Wicked Game
by Gypsy3
Summary: **COMPLETED ** Frank and the Team make a deal with one felon to break another criminal... But when the game changes for Jake, he learns that there is more to life than he realized...
1. Crosstown Chase

CHICAGO, 1994  
  
--  
  
Jake Shaw was riding shotgun in the squad car. He was fresh out of the Academy and newly reassigned to Chicago. First case given to him was helping the local police with breaking an auto theft ring. For the past two weeks he's been paired with Donaldson, a rotund old-timer with definite ideas about where Feds can go and jump...  
  
"I do hope we're not boring you, Agent Shaw." Donaldson snickered as he drove. "Nothing ever really happens out here at night. We drive around, catch a speeding ticket or two, drop a hooker off of her corner and into the tank... nothing much."  
  
"If it was nothing then I wouldn't be here Donaldson. SOMETHING must be going on for the FBI to be in on this."  
  
"Oh, yeah, sure. We have a little trouble with 'Grab' every now and then, but we make a bust, it dies down again. Nothing unusual." He shot a glare at Shaw.  
  
"Man, pull over. I need a break." Jake was getting sick of this man's condescension towards him. He was getting out of the car at the public phone when Donaldson came around.   
  
"I'm going for a coffee. Be right back and don't take it for a joy ride."  
  
"yeah whatever." Jake rolled his eyes and turned around to watch Donaldson waddle his way into the little diner.  
  
He didn't see the car pull up and stop in the middle of the street to let a man and a woman out. The car drove off by the time Jake turned back around. All he saw was the man and woman walking across the street towards the Porsche dealership. His eyes glued themselves to the gleaming silver porsche that was on display. ~someday~ he thought. ~Someday that is going to be mine.~ When the other end picked up, he turned to talk to his boss.  
  
Across the street, the man and woman had seen Jake and the cop car.   
  
"Jesus Speed! Are you insane? There's a cop over there!"  
  
"Shut up Switch." The woman shot him a look. "I know how to do this. Just stand here and ogle the car until they leave. One's on the phone and the other's taking a piss."  
  
Speed was a nickname of course. She stood about 5'9 with bleached white hair that had a few black streaks. Her ice blue eyes were calculating as she watched the man on the phone across the street and the diner. "You got it?"  
  
"Yeah, I got it."  
  
"Good. Now we wait."  
  
Jake turned back again to the dealership window. The man and woman had stopped and were watching the car, talking to themselves. Something wasn't right, he couldn't put his finger on it, but something just didn't sit well.   
  
"Alright. Yeah Boss, I heard you. Tough it out until the bust is made. I know." He hung up with a sigh of resignation and went into the diner to push Donaldson off of his ass. ~Cripes the music is too loud in here.~ he thought as he looked around for Donaldson...  
  
Speed grinned and winked at Switch. "Time to party. Get the keys."  
  
With that she stepped back and hurled the brick she had in her coat at the glass door. Both of them scrambled through the now empty window - Speed to the car and Switch to the key bank. He grabbed the key with the matching number off the hook and tossed it to Speed who had deposited herself behind the wheel. Slickly she slid the key into the ignition and turned it over.  
  
"Oh yeah baby. Purr like a big ass cat." She grinned even bigger and threw it into reverse, backing off the revolving podium the silver bullet was perched on.  
  
"Just how do you plan on getting out of here Speed?" Switch was nervous, he had a feeling of how but he wasn't sure if he wanted to know.  
  
Speed just grinned and angled for the big picture window. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to depart, please make sure that your traytables are in their upright and locked position and that your seatbelts are securely fastened. In the even of cabin pressure dropping, please put your head between your knees and kiss your ass goodbye."  
  
Jake had gotten Donaldson off of his butt and both were heading out to the car. Jake wasn't liking this. SOMETHING wasn't right. "Hey, let me drive for a while. I need to do something and you can catch a nap."   
  
"Whatever. Just don't wreck it." He tossed the keys to Jake, who caught them smoothly and slid down into the seat.  
  
Right as Jake put the key into the ignition, Speed threw the car into 1st and gunned the gas hard enough to jerk Switch into last week. With a screaming of tires and a growling of the engine, the car shot back up the ramp, over the podium and flew at the glass... "SWEET MOTHER OF PEARL SPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED!!!" was all Switch could get out. His yell turned into a scream as the Porsche hit the glass picture window and shattered it into millions of pieces.  
  
Jake heard the screaming of tires and looked up just in time to see the silver bullet he'd been drooling over hit the glass. He screamed himself, Donaldson matching that scream as Jake threw the car into reverse and backed the hell out of the line of the car.  
  
The Porsche hit the ground, bouncing both of it's passengers a bit. Speed swerved and fishtailed a bit, but got the car under control as she swung it around and peeled out. Jake was hot on her tail however and Donaldson had the radio in hand calling it in. "You heard me!! We need a helicopter on this and more cars!!"  
  
Speed hit second gear, swerving in and out of traffic. "I see you..." she giggled and threw it into third as she blew through a red light and caused a three car pileup from cross traffic...  
  
Jake managed to swing his way through the pileup in her wake. He couldn't believe a woman was driving like this, she had to have incredible luck on her side. He shifted the car's automatic into a higher gear and looked over at Donaldson... who was squeezing his eyes shut and his lips were moving silently in a prayer. ~Chicken~ Jake snickered to himself and kept after the woman.  
  
Speed couldn't shake him. "Damnit!!" she swore and threw it into fourth... then fifth and kept dodging down alleys and sidestreets in her efforts to shake him. Switch was bracing his hands against the dashboard and screaming every now and then. This was his first boost and had never really understood how Speed got her nickname. He'd remember it now and forever. Hopefully this would scare the little shit off of boosting cars forever... she took a glance at him in the seat and shook her head. He was too young to be getting into this now. He should be in high school and trying to boost young girls' kisses, not getting a rap sheet for Grab.  
  
"SPEED!! LOOK OUT!!" Too late she looked up and saw the police cars cutting her off at the cross street.   
  
"MOTHERLESS BITCH!!" Speed yanked the gear down into neutral and spun around in a screeching 180 then headed back up the alley. All of a sudden she grabbed the wheel and slammed both feet down onto the pedals, bringing the Porshe to a squealing stop. "Switch."  
  
"Yeah Speed?" He was gasping for breath and trying to keep from vomiting onto the floorboard of the car.  
  
"We're toast." She held her hands up for the police to see and sighed.  
  
**** 


	2. Dealing with a Demon

8 YEARS LATER...  
  
-  
  
"You want me to do WHAT?"  
  
Donovan looked at Jake and tried to repress the grin that threatened to break out. He hadn't seen Jake this up in arms in quite a while.   
  
"What part of 'undercover' do you not understand?" Monica was grinning too. One look at Alex and Cody told the tale. They all were just about to bust out laughing at this new assignment.  
  
"Oh come on Jake, you know you're itching for something a little less... dramatic." Donovan's mouth quirked up in a lopsided grin as he continued. "This is it. Besides, you yourself admitted that you had a speeding ticket rap sheet a mile long.*"  
  
Jake looked fit to be tied. Going undercover again wasn't what he had in mind by telling Donovan that he needed something less stressful. He meant that he wanted a week in Barbados, a week in New York City... a week guarding the President... ANYTHING that didn't involve going undercover again. "And just what does Alex get to do?"  
  
"Alex..." Donvan looked pointedly at the no longer smirking Alex. "Alex gets to go undercover with you Jake."  
  
It was Alex's turn to look put out. "Aw c'mon Frank! We've all been steady on assignments for the last year and a half." She was resorting to whining now. Truly unbecoming a Federal Agent, but if it got her at least a week off then it was worth it. They all needed a week off.  
  
"Oh cut it out for crying out loud!" Cody was beginning to laugh at the two of them.  
  
"Cody, knock it off. Monica, break it down." Donovan was cracking one of the biggest grins they'd seen in a long time.  
  
Monica cleared her throat and stood up.  
  
"Jake. You're going in on a theft ring. They target the high end cars and the exotics. Chicago Police asked us for help because they haven't been able to crack it."  
  
"WAIT!!!" Jake shot up out of his chair, knocking it over. "You want me to crack ANOTHER auto theft ring??"  
  
"Another?" Donovan looked back at Jake. This wasn't something he read in Jake's file.  
  
Jake blinked. "Yeah. About 8 years ago after I graduated the academy and was reassigned here. We got to 'assist' the locals with breaking a theft ring. That's where I learned to drive like Earnhardt." He caught the look from Donovan. "And it's not in my file because Speed had high contacts."  
  
"Speed? Interesting name..." Donovan snickered. What kind of self-respecting crook went by the name Speed?  
  
"She was well deserving of it. She led me and about 15 Unicars on a high speed chase all over the damned city. More pile ups in her wake than I've ever seen. It was kept low profile because of her safety. The Feds were looking at her for a potential witness after they found out who we caught."  
  
"SHE?" Alex, Cody and Donovan all asked at once.  
  
"What? You don't think a woman can out drive me?" He looked at their faces and shrugged. "OK, so she did... but she wound up caught anyways. Doing a dime for Grand Theft Auto, at least 2 counts, and the list to go with it. Look, Frank... If you want me to go into this ring, then I need to go pick Speed's brain, see what she can teach me."  
  
Donovan didn't look like he liked that idea...  
  
----  
  
Jake almost didn't recognize the woman that sat across the sterile metal table from him and Monica. That was Donovan's stipulation - that Monica in go with Jake and see what she could get while Jake asked Speed the questions. She still had the flippant demeanor, but her hair was now a dark blonde. When he'd arrested her, it was just shoulder length... now it was to the middle of her back. Those ice blue eyes were still calculating, as if she were timing the gears of your mind while you spoke. Gone was the heavy black eye makeup as well that had given her an eerie appearance. Jake decided he rather liked this version of Speed.   
  
When the female guard had brought her in, Monica looked over at Jake, who in turn nodded. She opened up the file jacket on her and read the Warden's version of Speed's life while she was living on the citizen's nickel. "For all appearances, you're a model citizen. No fights, no attitude outside of normal, no blemishes what so ever. So tell me, Speed... why haven't you made parole yet?"  
  
Speed just looked at the woman, then at Jake. Oh yes, she remembered Jake. Those cool blue eyes slid down from Jake's face to the edge of the table then back up. She leaned back in the chair, propping it up on the two back legs and lifted her right hand to chew on her thumbnail. She flicked a glance back from Jake to the woman with him.  
  
Outside, Donovan was watching through the one way mirror. Nothing stood out about this woman save for those eyes. Intriguing eyes. "Come on miss speed demon. I know you've got a voice..."  
  
Monica looked from the mirror to the guard and then back to Speed. "We need your help, your knowledge. Jake, as you might remember, is a Federal Agent. I'm one as well. We both work for the Justice Department. Chicago PD has asked us to step in and assist then in breaking up an international car theft ring. Jake suggested we come to you for instruction on how to get inside."  
  
Speed looked at Monica, then smiled. With a chuckle she stood up and walked over to the mirror. She knew the drill, and slowly licked her lips in the mirror. As the tip of her tongue ran over the full lips, Donovan had to smile at the woman's brass.   
  
"No."  
  
At first neither one actually believed she'd spoken up. But Jake looked at her and pulled out a file. "Yes. We're not asking for a miracle, just some tips and helpful bits of information."  
  
Again came the sarcastic chuckle as she turned her head around, the long blonde hair falling over her shoulder to hang in mid-air. At this point, with those eyes, she looked rather possessed. She held a long and meaningful look at the guard, then winked at Monica. "No."  
  
By now Frank had gotten the idea that with the guard in the room, Speed was not going to say anything more than 'no'. He twisted the knob on the door and walked in. "You're no longer needed in here. Please wait for us to call you." Dismissed, the guard shot Speed a dark look and left. Speed did more than pucker up her lips and blow a kiss to the guard. Outside, Alex made sure that the guard was well on her way and didn't stick around.  
  
Speed actually smiled as Donovan walked in. "So, the mirror was a one way. Nice lips Special Agent."  
  
"Same to you, Speed. We need your help, are you going to give it to us or are you going to go back to your day to day life here in prison?"  
  
"Life is day to day even if I do help you. What you want is impossible."  
  
"Make it possible. We have ways of making your stay here longer."  
  
Speed looked at Donovan. The man was smooth and he obviously was in charge. "Word gets out that I helped you, I'm a dead woman in here. You think male prisons are harsh? Try living with these witch bitches in here day to day. I help, I get out."  
  
"No."  
  
"Then we have a problem."  
  
Jake spoke up finally. "Speed. It was pure dumb luck I was there when you went airborne with that Porsche. It was even more pure dumb luck that you got turned into a closed off alley. You did a good thing in not letting the boy go down for a theft rap. Do another good thing. The money made off of this theft ring is being funneled into a side drug ring. Help us stop the theft ring and help us shut down the drug ring."  
  
Speed had been listening quietly, nibbling on her right thumb as Jake spoke. When he mentioned the drug ring, she sat down in the chair and looked at the three of them. She tilted back in the chair again. "So, you think by coming down here, and asking me a few questions, that you'll be able to slip into the world of Boosts and bring this ring down? You are out of your fucking minds. They'll make you in a heartbeat. The world of car boosts is a tight knit circle and each knows the other. Most of them grew up with each other, ran the same gangs, went to the same schools. Hell, most of them are family. So don't come to me, begging for little tidbits of information to slip into something I grew up in. It'd take you more than a few weeks to learn how to break into a car without ruining the value of the Lady. You want what I know? You get me the hell out of here."  
  
**** 


	3. Meeting of the Minds

When Donovan walked in two mornings later, he heard the sounds of talking and random laughter coming from the ops room. Greeting him as he came in were three females, Jake and Cody. Instantly he recognized Alex and Monica, so he guessed that the other was Speed. She'd bleached her hair white blonde again and had styled it into some sort of dreadlocks. She was wearing a pair of leather pants and a ripped up grey tshirt. She had a pair of boots on that looked like the style of the heels alone could impale a man through his breastbone. Almost as if by intuition, she turned around as he walked into the room. Around her eyes was heavy dark makeup. Those eyes made him shiver. With eyes like that, she should have been named Ice or Demon.  
  
"Well, we meet again, Special Agent."  
  
"Good Morning Speed. I trust you've made yourself at home here?"  
  
"It's not 5 star, but it'll do. And it's a helluva lot better than what I had for the past 8 years."  
  
"Nice hair" was all he said to that as he walked by, nose deep in the file.  
  
Speed smirked as he walked by. She swatted him on the rear end and whispered "Nice ass".  
  
Alex nearly choked, Jake fell off the chair he was sitting on, Cody spun around and buried himself into something computer wise and Monica just cracked the biggest grin she could handle. Donovan however, turned around and got as close to her as he could. At only 5'9 compared to his 6'2, she had to look up - even with heels on. The look on her face was priceless. For the first time, Jake actually saw a glimmer of fear flash across her face.  
  
"Don't. Do. That. Again."  
  
Speed blinked, then grinned and flicked her tongue out to lick his nose. As Frank recoiled back in reflex, Monica bust out laughing. So did Alex, who fell off of her chair, and Jake who had just gotten up off of the floor. Frank just shook his head, wiped off his nose and slapped the file across her chest.  
  
Speed reflexed and gripped the file, one hand curling around his wrist. "Don't hit me again, Special Agent. I don't like it when people hit me."  
  
"It's our assignment, Speed." He twisted his hand out of hers and nodded to the file. "See if you can help Jake and Alex with it."  
  
As he walked away, she actually began to laugh. "No dice baby. You want to get into a boosts world? I'm your ticket in. I'll help you crack it, from the inside. I'm your undercover person here. Jake is still too well known in the boost circuit - he arrested me."  
  
Frank circled back and stood there, listening. "No. You don't have the skills to protect yourself in there. Either you give us the information we nee-"  
  
She cut him off, her eyes flashing as she got closer to him, her hands on her hips. "I don't have the SKILLS? Skills to protect myself in the ring? Oh man, you are so out of your league. I can boost anything with wheels that you throw at me and I can outdrive anyone else. Shut up Jake. I agreed to help you and I always keep my promises, FRANK. You can take that to the bank. SO, if you want my help, you do it my way and I'll bring everyone home safe."   
  
They were nose to nose by the time she was finished and Donovan's eyes had turned as black as his hair. Everyone else was watching in stunned silence as she read him the riot act. They weren't sure if they should break it up, or clean it up when he was done.  
  
"You do that, SPEED. You bring them home safe... or forget about living." he turned crisply on one heel and started to walk away.  
  
"Them, Agent Donovan? Perhaps you didn't hear me. I said everyone. As in you too. You're going to be on my crew."  
  
"Not a chance."  
  
"Oh yes chance."  
  
Speed flipped open the file and scanned it quickly. "Cody, you're a compu-geek, I'll need one to help hack the DMV mainframes and some databases to find the cars they want." Cody looked like he was about to giggle. An undercover assignment... and with a woman who defied instead of melted when confronted with Donovan. THIS was going to be priceless.  
  
"Alex, you're on your own assignment, right?" Alex nodded. "I can't use you then. Besides, women are rare in boost rings." Alex chuckled and went back to reading her file.  
  
"Jake, would love to use you, given a sense of irony. But your face is still remembered. Looks like you get to run things while I change Frank into a boost." The grin splitting Jake's face was infectious. Everyone else was grinning at the thought of Donovan undercover. Not only undercover, but under a woman's orders. Donovan looked like he was ready to spit.  
  
"And last but not least. Monica... If you can drive... you get to help with scouting, radio contacts, and drop-offs." Monica nodded with a grin.  
  
"YOU, Special Agent Frank Donovan... you get to be my right hand man. Tell me about your driving skills."  
  
Frank remained silent. The look on his face was deadly.  
  
Speed wasn't impressed. "Frank."  
  
"No. Use Jake. He's more cut out for this type. He's a natural speed freak."  
  
"No. He's too well known, I won't be able to protect him the way I can you. Besides, I-"  
  
She was cut off by his hand around her throat and being backed up against the wall. Both of her hands snapped around his wrist in defense. He wasn't choking her, just putting her back into her place. He got really, really close to her ear and whispered. "Then make it so he is protected, Speed. Or I will make your life hell."  
  
Jake and Alex were about to grab him by the shoulders and pull him off of her when he let he go and stood back. Speed put a hand to her throat and coughed slightly.   
  
"I'm glad we had this conversation, Speed. You all have your assignments - Good Luck."  
  
**** 


	4. Lessons and Learning

Two days later, after Speed had set Monica and Cody to their homework assignments, she had Jake out in the garage. She was wearing a typical greasemonkey's uniform and the hood was up on Donovan's BMW Z70. Jake was on one side, Speed on the other and bent over the side. Donovan walked in to a perfect view of her rear end and Jake paying more attention to that than what she was trying to tell him over the blaring music.  
  
"Jake, are you paying attention? This wire here is what BMW uses on their 'kill switch' mechanism. If this is cut, the engine is gone, useless. The wire travels up through the dashboard and into the ignition where a special laser cut key with a transponder chip embedded into it. The transponder chip tells the receiver that it's alright to start the ignition. No transponder chip, no go. Jake... JAKE!"  
  
Jake snapped his head back to Speed's lecture. Frank shook his head and went up to his office. He was beginning to regret this more and more.  
  
Jake leaned over on the edge of the engine compartment, arms folded in front of him. "Where did you learn so much about engines and cars?"  
  
Speed chuckled and proceeded to tune up the BMW as she talked. "You want the truth or what you think you want to hear?"  
  
"The truth of course."  
  
She looked up and grinned, then reached for the socket wrench. "I grew up in society. My parents were wealthy enough, I never wanted for anything. If I pointed to it, Daddy bought it for me. So began my love affair with cars. I watched my dad drive his own speedster when I was little and several times he sat me on his lap while he drove. At the tender age of thirteen, I took his keys and went for a joyride. As I was a juvie, and Daddy didn't think it was necessary for me to be punished, I got off. So began my long career as a boost. When I was arrested again 6 months later for speeding, the magistrate suggested that my parents put me towards a creative use of my talents and ambitions. Enter the mechanics. The man who worked on my father's cars taught me everything he knew about cars and engines. What he didn't or couldn't, I learned on the streets. I was boosting other people's cars by the time I was 16."  
  
"And the name?"  
  
"Hmm? Oh, how'd I wind up with the name Speed?"  
  
Jake nodded, watching those ice blue eyes closely. If he wasn't careful...  
  
"George gave it to me. He bailed me out one time while my parents were gone. It was my third arrest for speeding."  
  
"And here I thought it was something more exotic."  
  
"No, Jake..." she stood up, a smudge of engine grease across the bridge of her nose. "Nothing that exotic. I'm a speed freak. Plain and simple. So, where did you learn to drive like you did that night?"  
  
"Chicago, that night. I just had to keep up with you or I'd never hear the end of it."  
  
Speed looked at him, arms folded just under her breasts. She wasn't sure if she wanted to smack him or just laugh at him. "Whatever." She did neither and turned away to drop the socket wrench. She looked back long enough to tell him to get cleaned up and meet her back here in 20 minutes.  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
"To reintroduce myself to the neighborhood. Mama's been away for far too long." The smile that curled her lips was eerie.  
  
Jake wasn't sure anymore if letting her out on the streets was such a good idea.  
  
****  
  
Speed was down in the garage 20 minutes later and waiting on Jake. She'd changed into a pair of red leather pants that sat on her hips, a black tank top and a black short leather jacket over that. The boots she was wearing were much like she'd been wearing when Frank backed her up against the wall for lipping off to him. Again the heavy black eye makeup was around her eyes and her hair was twisted into long bleached white ropes away from her face and down her back.   
  
Frank was about to leave for the night and was looking for his keys. The sound of someone clearing their throat drew his attention. Speed was leaning against the BMW with the keys dangling from one finger. Frank just held out his hand for them. Speed smiled and held out the keys. When he reached for them, she snatched them back.  
  
"Jake got caught up with something at home and won't be back here tonight. Give me the damned keys Speed."  
  
"No. Jake's obviously running late, so I have to amuse myself somehow."  
  
"I'm going home, give me my keys!"  
  
"You want 'em? Come for a ride with me."  
  
"Do I have a choice?" In truthfulness, he was itching for a ride with her. Just to see if she was all that she said she was on the streets. So, he shrugged and gave in, sliding around the front end of the BMW and into the passenger seat. Speed sank into the leather seat behind the wheel and cranked the ignition.  
  
As she pulled out of the garage, she handed Frank a CD and told him to pop it in. At the redlight, she put the top down and the volume up...  
  
'the way you're bathed in light  
reminds me of that night  
god laid me down into your rose garden of trust  
and I was swept away   
with nothin' left to say  
some helpless fool   
yeah I was lost in a swoon of peace  
you're all I need to find  
so when the time is right  
come to me sweetly, come to me  
come to me'  
  
"You can't find good music anymore. Too much noise and not enough soul. Put your seatbelt on." When the light turned green, she laid on the gas and put rubber down on the road as the BMW jumped and took off. Speed managed to keep it to just 5mph over the speedlimit. Frank was impressed... so far...  
  
'love will lead us, alright  
love will lead us, she will lead us  
can you hear the dolphin's cry?  
see the road rise up to meet us  
it's in the air we breathe tonight  
love will lead us, she will lead us'  
  
"I mean, I know it's progression and all, but I miss the good old rock music. THAT was true rebellion, true soul. Excellent driving music." She smoothed around one corner, her right hand working the stick shift like she was stroking a lover's neck or chest.   
  
'oh yeah, we meet again  
it's like we never left  
time in between was just a dream  
did we leave this place?  
this crazy fog surrounds me  
you wrap your legs around me  
all I can do to try and breathe  
let me breathe so that I  
so we can go together!'  
  
Everything was going alright so far. The CD had switched through three tracks and Frank had relaxed a bit, enjoying the night air ruffling through the car. When speed brought the car to a stop at a red light, he found his voice.  
  
"Speed..."  
  
"yeah Frank?"  
  
"Have you ever thought about what your life would be like if you hadn't been arrested all those years ago?"  
  
She just turned and looked at him. The light turned green and the first notes of the next song were softly starting.  
  
'oh desert speak to my heart  
oh woman of the earth  
maker of children who weep for love  
maker of this birth  
'til your deepest secrets are known to me  
I will not be moved  
I will not be moved'  
  
Horns behind them were beginning to honk. Speed ignored them and turned back to the road in front of them. Her face had taken on a hard look as she slammed the shift into first and peeled out wildly...  
  
' "don't try to find the answer  
when there ain't no question here  
brother let your heart be wounded   
and give no mercy to your fear" '  
  
Frank had to grip the dashboard as best he could. Speed threw it into second and blew through a light that had just turned red...  
  
'adam and eve live down the street from me  
babylon is every town  
it's as crazy as it's ever been  
love's a stranger all around  
  
in a moment we lost our minds here  
and lay our spirit down  
today we lived a thousand years   
all we have is now'  
  
Frank's palms were sweating and he was sure that there was going to be two hand prints in the dash by the time Speed got the car stopped. What did he say? Speed just kept her mouth pressed into a tight, thin line as she threw the shift into third...  
  
'run to the water  
and find me there  
burnt to the core but not broken  
we'll cut through the madness  
of these streets below the moon  
these streets below the moon  
  
and I will never leave you  
'til we can say, "this world was just a dream  
we were sleepin' now we are awake"  
'til we can say'  
  
They blew through another red light, causing a four car pile up in their wake. Frank had closed his eyes roughly 10 miles ago and hadn't opened them since. The wind had gotten cold in their higher speeds. Speed paid it no attention, she just kept going. As she zipped past a parked police car, the red and blue lights blinked on and it took off in hot pursuit.  
  
'in a moment we lost our minds here  
and dreamt the world was round  
a million mile fall from grace  
thank god we missed the ground  
  
run to the water  
and find me there  
burnt to the core but not broken  
we'll cut through the madness  
of these streets below the moon  
with a nuclear fire of love in our hearts  
  
yeah, I can see it now lord  
out beyond all the breakin' of waves   
and the tribulation  
it's a place and the home of ascended souls  
who swam out there in love!'  
  
"I see you......" Speed grinned and threw it into fourth, dodging and swerving in and out of traffic, careening around corners - sometimes hard enough to ever-so-slightly lift onto two wheels. After about three turns and five intersections, the police car had been shaken and Speed smiled.  
  
'run to the water   
and find me there  
burnt to the core but not broken  
we'll cut through the madness  
of these streets below the moon  
with a nuclear fire of love in our hearts  
rest easy baby, rest easy  
and recognize it all as light and rainbows  
smashed to smithereens and be happy  
run to the water (and find me there)  
run to the water'  
  
Suddenly Speed threw the shift into neutral and slammed on the brakes, twisting the wheel and then hitting reverse. She turned the ignition off and pulled the key out. The click of her heels on the concrete told Frank that she was walking around the car. He hadn't worked up the nerve to open his eyes yet. But when she folded her arms and leaned down on the edge of the door, he peeked one eye open and looked at her. They were back in the garage. Speed simply dropped the keys in his lap.  
  
"I think about it every damned day." Speed turned and walked away, going into the room she was given in the ops center during this assignment.  
  
Frank barely got the door open before he leaned over far enough to fall out of the seat. When he hit the floor, he actaully kissed the ground - What in God's name was he thinking letting her drive??  
  
(( First song is titled "Dolphin's Cry" Second song is titled "Run to the Water". Both are by LIVE and on the "Distance to Here" CD. ))  
  
**** 


	5. Old Friend, New Enemies

Jake shifted in his seat. They'd been driving around for about an hour when they were cut off by a Mercedes and an SUV. The men inside the SUV hauled Speed out and dragged her back to the Mercedes to talk to someone. She didn't seem to be too upset by that at all. He kept looking back and forth between the Mercedes behind them and the SUV in front of them.  
  
The sound of footsteps coming up drew his attention. Speed slid down behind the wheel and winked. "We're in."  
  
"In?"  
  
"Yeah. The Boss wants to meet me, I was told my reputation preceeded me. I think you and yours are about to get a big break."  
  
She started the car and followed the Mercedes. The entire ride was in silence, not even the stereo was turned on. Jake was beginning to squirm again. He was clean this time out - no wire, no ear piece. It was just him and Speed and his sidearm. He kept his eyes on the scenery around them so he could remember where the place was once they got back to ops.  
  
"Relax Jake. I know where we are and I can tell Donovan."  
  
"I know."  
  
"So why are you so nervous?"  
  
"You tell me, Speed. We're cut off in the middle of traffic, you're hauled out of the car and dragged back to talk to someone we don't even know. What if they hadn't been here to recruit you back into the fold? What if they were old enemies of yours that had held a grudge?"  
  
She chuckled and kept her eyes on the road. Was that concern for her she'd heard in his voice? "No biggie. It's not like they can just walk to up to my door and say 'hey, we need you to boost a few cars for an order'. Number One, I don't have a door of my own... and Number Two, things have changed. Boosts don't know who to trust outside of their crews. What's the matter Jake? Worried that getting me out of prison would be wasted if I'd gotten scragged?"  
  
"That's not it and you know it."  
  
"Don't tell me you're actually worried for me, Jake."  
  
"And who says I can't be?"  
  
She turned and looked at him. "Getting too close, Agent Shaw. No fraternizing with the criminally insane. It won't look good on your resume to say that you fell for a car thief."  
  
Jake turned and looked at her. "You don't have the first clue."  
  
"No? I think I got your timing down pat Jake. You don't think I see you watching me closely, the way you watch me. Admit it - you've gotten in over your head when it comes to me."  
  
"Think agai-"  
  
"We're here." She cut him off before he could finish. With a wink, she stepped out of the car and followed the other men in. Jake caught up and took hold of her around the waist. When she looked at him questioningly, he winked back. So that was it... 'keep up the appearances, pretend to be my lover... rissa, rissa, you stupid idiot did you REALLY think he could have fallen for you?' She sighed inwardly and chastised herself for even daring to think of such a thing.  
  
They were in a scrap yard on the waterfront. She knew this place, knew it well. The smell of the rusting metal combined with the salty tang in the air brought back a lot of memories. 30 feet ahead of them was a desk and a man sitting behind it, obviously involved with something else at the moment. But when their escort came around the desk, he looked up.  
  
"Well, I'll be go to hell."  
  
"You might, if you're lucky Speed"  
  
Jake looked between her and the man. "Baby?"  
  
"It's OK. 'member me talking about the night I got arrested? The cop who put me away for so long?"  
  
Jake nodded - the turning point of his career...  
  
" 'member the kid who was in the car with me? Oh I know I told you about him."  
  
"Yeah, I do... scared kid who puked in the floorboard when the cops yanked him out of the car. Kept crying for his mama, or so you said." Jake had to grin, he remembered the kid completely falling apart when the cuffs were slapped on.  
  
"Seems my good deed was for nothing. Meet Switch." Speed cracked a grin and turned back to the desk.  
  
"Ahhh Speed, Speed, my little Speed Demon... How the fuck did you get out? Last I heard you were serving a dime in the Pen... and no hope of parole."  
  
"Oh, you know me... charming, persuasive, good skills... They let me out for good behavior."  
  
"You're bullshittin' me Speed."  
  
"Would I do that to you? How's your mother?"  
  
"Don't talk about my mother. Let's get to it. When I heard through the mill that you were out, I set some scouts on you. I saw that little driving stunt you pulled a few nights back. What'd he say to you, hm Speed? What got you so pissed off that you nearly killed him. From what my boys saw, he was so white he looked about ready to die right there."  
  
"He asked for a ride and then wanted to know if I'd thought about my life." Jake was listening. So that was why they found Donovan on the floor the next morning. When Monica woke him up, he scrambled up and looked around. He never did say anything about the previous night...   
  
"He your crew?"  
  
"Nope. A friend of one of my crew." She nodded to Jake.  
  
"And what do you do...?" Switch looked at Jake expectantly.  
  
"Me? Man, I can drive anything with wheels. Outdrove mah baby here once." Subtly Speed put her foot on Jake's and put pressure on it. Jake cracked a grin to hide the wince of pain.  
  
"Is that so." Switch watched them both closely. "When'd you two hook up?"  
  
"Before I got arrested. I've kept him on the burner for a while  
  
Switch watched Jake for a few moments. It was obvious that something didn't sit right. As he watched Jake, Speed's left hand began to shake almost imperceptibly... except Jake had his arm around her and felt the shaking as her hand pressed against his hip. Jake responded by pulling her a bit closer to him. If he wasn't careful...  
  
"Well. I better get down to it, then. Here's the list. I need all of these by Friday morning, 7 am." He handed Speed an 8x11 piece of paper. Speed took it and scanned down the list.  
  
"No way man. Can't be done." The tone of her voice was different, almost in shock...  
  
"No?"  
  
"No. Not that 'I' can't do it... it just cannot be done. This is way too many cars in too few nights and half of these are so exotic that we'd have to raid the high rent districts."  
  
"Then you better get working. You don't deliver, I'll make sure that you WISH you were back in the Pen."  
  
Speed's eyes slid down the list as she'd been talking, but when he mentioned her being sent back, she flicked a look up at Switch and her hand began to shake again.  
  
"7am Friday morning." Switch sat back down in his chair and turned around to do more business, effectively dismissing them.  
  
As they walked back to the car, Speed's hand had begun to shake hard enough that it was plainly noticeable.  
  
"I can't do it... it can't be done... he's insane...."  
  
"Speed.... calm down!" He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her gently. She was beginning to freak him out. He took this list from her hand as she sat down on the hood of the car. "That's a big list." The 50 cars were listed by make, model, and year... and some of them were colletor's items.  
  
"George... I have to go see George... I need to talk to him." She looked up at Jake, a touch of hauntedness in her eyes as she looked... then she slid behind the wheel. They drove in silence. Jake was getting more and more worried. This was looking bad if Speed was rattled. He hoped that she'd get over it quickly. It was going to be bad enough with her on her game, worse if she couldn't get back into form. More than that, he knew that he was falling for her.  
  
**** 


	6. Complications

George pinned her hard with a look. "You're not making a comeback, ARE you Speed?"  
  
"I have to." She looked at Jake for help, then back at George.  
  
"How many in your crew?"  
  
Speed looked at Jake. "Four, hoping for a fifth with you George."  
  
"No, no way, it can't be done. You'd have to be as nuts as Switch is to pull this off."  
  
"I have to do this - he'll kill me if I don't."   
  
He looked at Speed for a few minutes. Then he sighed and shook his head "Go home, get some sleep. Tomorrow morning we'll make some calls."   
  
"Thank you George." She smiled and hugged the old man.  
  
----  
  
Jake drove them away from George's. Speed numbly sat in the passenger seat as he drove.  
  
"What happens when this is over? I mean, if I pull this boost off..."  
  
He was so surprised that she'd spoken up that he swerved into the next lane. Getting the car back under control, he coughed and stammered...  
  
"I go back, don't I?" Her voice was quiet, almost like a little girl's.  
  
"Yes." He sighed. This wasn't going to be pretty.  
  
"I can't go back," she whispered.  
  
Jake felt guilty. He'd neglected to mention that this was a short assignment for her. Once the bust was made, she would be shipped back to the State Penitentiary.   
  
She sat in total silence even as Jake pulled up to his place. She had drawn her knees up under her chin and stared blankly at the dashboard. She'd be sent back. Somewhere in her mind she knew that's what would happen.  
  
"Speed..."  
  
What an idiot she was to actually think that she'd be let go with a handshake and a 'thanks for your help'...  
  
Jake gently shook her shoulder. "Speed... come on. I've got a beer with your name on it upstairs."  
  
She followed him up to his apartment. When he handed her the beer, she just took it and stared at it. "I haven't had one of these in 8 years..."  
  
"I know. If it helps any, Speed, I'm sorry. I thought you'd figured it out before now." He sat down next to her and took her hand. "I thought you knew that you'd go back."  
  
Unshed tears trembled in her eyes as she looked at the beer. "I'll die if I go back..."  
  
Jake flinched. Informants and witnesses who were put back into the system were regularly harrassed and even beaten by the other inmates - sometimes killed. So she wasn't lying. He didn't know what to say, so just just picked up her hand and looked at it. It was so small compared to his. Without thinking, he put his lips to the back of her hand and kissed it gently.  
  
Speed blinked, then slowly turned her head and looked at him. Did he just do what she thought he did?  
  
Jake looked up at her for a moment. He pulled her closer, sliding the hand he was holding around behind him as his free hand slipped into her hair. Their lips met tenderly at first, but when her other hand slid around behind his chest and pulled up against him Jake lost sense of reason and pushed her down under him on the sofa. The two bottles of beer were forgotten on the table even as she slid her tongue between his lips.  
  
Speed wasn't thinking either - she was purely reacting. All she knew is that eight years was too damned long to be celibate. It felt right and it felt good. His weight pressed her deeper into the cushions of his couch and she shifted to get more comfortable under him.  
  
Jake groaned softly and raised up. He looked down at her. "Are you sure Speed?"  
  
Speed smiled and cupped his cheek with one hand, her thumb lightly caressing his cheek. "My name is Marissa," she whispered as one leg slid over to wrap around his legs.  
  
This was going to be complicated in the morning...  
  
**** 


	7. Moonlight Waltz

Her eyes opened slowly. It was still dark outside the windows. Jake was still asleep next to her on the floor, his arm wrapped tightly around her waist even as his head rested next to hers. She traced a finger down his cheek slowly. What the hell was she thinking?  
  
She sighed softly and manuevered out of his arms. Speed went and got something to drink and leaned against the counter, deep in thought. The clock read 3am. In a few hours they'd be back at George's, making some calls and pulling favors. Her old crew would be reassembled and she'd have new crew as well. Donovan would have to make concessions to not arrest them - because they were in fact helping them all and deserved it. She decided that she'd sacrifice herself and go back to prison if he'd let the others off for what they were about to do...  
  
Bottle of beer in hand, she slowly wandered over to the stereo and pushed play on the CD player. Instead of the crashing rock music she'd expected to hear, a soft strumming of guitar strings was heard... As the song began, she found herself closing her eyes and swaying with it...  
  
'sittin' on the beach  
the island king of love  
deep in fijian seas  
deep in some blissful dream  
where the goddess finally sleeps  
in the lap of her lover  
subdued in all her rage  
and I am aglow with the taste  
of the demons driven out  
and happily replaced   
with the presence of real love  
the only one who saves'  
  
Jake's eyes opened to the music and he saw Speed swaying to the music, completely naked.. He watched her for a moment, completely entranced...  
  
'I wanna dance with you  
I see a world where people live and die with grace  
the karmic ocean dried up and leave no trace  
I wanna dance with you  
I see a sky full of the stars that change our minds  
and lead us back to a world we would not face'  
  
Speed was oblivious to Jake as he got up and slipped behind her. His arms came around her waist and held her tight up against him. Speed smiled and leaned her head back onto his shoulder as they moved slowly together with the music  
  
'the stillness in your eyes  
convinces me that I   
I don't know a thing   
and I been around the world and I've  
tasted all the wines  
a half a billion times  
came sickened to your shores   
you show me what this life is for'  
  
Jake turned her around to face him, his arms wrapping tightly around her waist again. This was one of those rare moments when he wished that they were in a different place. Speed's hands snaked under his arms and around his waist as she laid her head on his shoulder again, her eyes closed as they danced together...  
  
'I wanna dance with you  
I see a world where people live and die with grace  
the karmic ocean dried up and leave no trace  
I wanna dance with you  
I see a sky full of the stars that change our minds  
and lead us back to a world we would not face  
  
in this altered state  
full of so much pain and rage  
you know we got to find a way to let it go'  
  
Jake kissed the top of her head, his fingers tracing up and down her spine. What the hell was he thinking in falling for her?   
  
'sittin' on the beach  
the island king of love  
deep in fijian seas  
deep in the heart of it all  
where the goddess finally sleeps  
after eons of war and lifetimes  
she smilin' and free, nothin' left  
but a cracking voice and a song, oh lord'  
  
Speed kissed his bare shoulder and stepped back, pulling him by one hand into his bedroom. With a beautiful smile, she pulled him ontop of her onto the bed. In an instant, Jake was undone and had forgotten all about his doubts. Tomorrow was another day and he'd worry about that tomorrow...  
  
'I wanna dance with you  
i see a world where people live and die with grace  
the karmic ocean dried up and leave no trace  
I wanna dance with you  
i see a sky full of the stars that change our minds  
and lead us back to a world we would not face  
we would not face  
we would not face  
we would not face   
we would not face   
we would not face'  
  
****  
  
(( song is titled "I want to dance with you" by LIVE on the 'Distance To Here' CD )) 


	8. Good Morning Sunshine

Jake was the first one to wake up. He was on his side, Marissa tucked in tight against him and his arm wrapped tightly over her waist. With a smile, he kissed the shell of her ear and slipped out of bed to take a shower. Marissa turned over, murmuring something. As he showered, he thought of just what the hell he'd done. Jake didn't regret it, not by a long shot. But if you'd've told him 8 years ago that the woman he chase in a high speed race across the landscape of Chicago, leaving auto wrecks in their wake and tearing the whole damned city apart would turn out to be a lover in his bed while he was going undercover - he would have just died laughing at the thought.  
  
But there she was, sleeping peacefully in the rising sun's rays. The brightening light lit up her hair like a halo. He sighed and rested his head against the wall of the shower. When this was over, he was going to be faced with sending her back to prison. He didn't know anymore if he wanted to do that.  
  
When he stepped out of the shower, he heard her sleepy voice from the bedroom.  
  
"yeah..." yawn... "he's right here. I think he was in the shower."  
  
Jake took the phone from her and she turned laid back down behind him, fingers playing with his towel. It was Donovan on the phone.  
  
"What the hell is she doing at your place?!"  
  
"Easy Frank. She had a rough night last night. It's not everyday someone you try to save turns out to threaten your life." Jake twisted around as she accidentally hit his ticklish spot. "Yeah, we're in. We got the tag last night. Remember reading about the kid who was in the car with her when she was arrested? That's the head of the ring. He gave her a list... Boss - it's a big list."  
  
Just then she shot up off of the bed and grabbed the phone. "Donovan!" Jake tried grabbing for the phone but she just ripped his towel off and threw it across the room. While he froze and tried to cover himself, she listened and spoke to Donovan.  
  
"Good Morning Speed. I trust you slept well?" there seemed to be a sense of humor in his voice, as if he knew out what'd happened.  
  
"Like a kitten. Listen, about this list - We're gonna need a lot of help. I'm going to see an old friend today and..." Jake tried again to grab the phone from her but she waved him off.  
  
"Get to the point."  
  
"I will if you'll quit interrupting me! I need at least one more. If it's possible to pull Alex off of her assignment, then I'll work her in... if not, I need you." Jake groaned and collapsed face first onto the bed. This was not going to turn out good at all.  
  
There was silence on the other end. Finally Donovan's voice came across. "I'll see if I can help. Let me know how things turn out. And tell Jake to put his towel back on."  
  
Before she could stop herself, she burst out laughing. Jake looked at her as if she'd lost her mind. He took the phone from her hand as she clutched her ribs while laughing hysterically.  
  
Frank hung up the phone on his end and chuckled. If only Jake knew that they'd been under surveillance all night...  
  
"What's so funny??" Jake stood at the edge of the bed, fuming.  
  
"Frank said to put your towel back on..."  
  
--  
  
Later, she and Jake were in a nearby cafe getting something to eat. This was a hang out for the local cops, well known as such and it gave them a chance to talk.  
  
"I'm putting you with Eric tomorrow night."  
  
"No way. I'm sticking with you."  
  
"No, that's the rule. One of each of you gets paired with one of the old crew. Except me, I'm paired up with Donny. With Monica and Cody being left behind, we've got no choice. Eric is good, he'll take care of you. Jake, promise me you won't get stupid on this." Her hand wrapped around his.  
  
A few tables over, a uniformed cop dialed his cell phone to make a call.  
  
An hour or so later, Jake was paying the bill as Speed stepped outside.  
  
"Randall, Randall, Randall...."  
  
Speed closed her eyes almost painfully and raised her face skyward. This was a bad omen. "Hello Detective Booth."  
  
"Marissa Fian Randall... When did you blow back into town? Thought you were put away for a few more years."  
  
"I was. They let me out for good behavior."  
  
"Bullshit. C'mere, take those sunglasses off so I can look into those demonic eyes of yours while I'm whistling in the wind."  
  
She stepped to the side while the other detective with Booth was grinning like a cheshire. A finger curled over the glasses and she pulled them off. Blue eyes looked into brown and she cracked a grin.  
  
"You had the best thing happen to you a few years ago when you were sent away. Got you out of a lifestyle that could have killed you or your friends. I heard about a high speed chase a few nights back involving a silver BMW and a woman behind the wheel that looked suspiciously like you... Now, it looked a little rusty, like it was someone imitating you. But you listen to me, and listen well - you do ANYTHING, I mean anything... jaywalk, throw a cigarette butt out of the window, wink at a cop, man, I don't care, I will arrest you and throw you back into prison."  
  
Speed just grinned again and leaned close to whisper, "light up a cigarette and calm the fuck down. I'm just in town visiting a friend and I'll be gone in a day or so."  
  
The other detective put his hand on her shoulder to pull her back from Booth about the time Jake stepped out of the diner. "HEY! Leave her alone you asshole!"  
  
"Back off son," Booth flashed his badge as Jake came over.  
  
Speed grinned still.  
  
"You know, not arresting you when I had the chance was probably the worst damn day of my life. A gigantic fuck up the ass of my career..."  
  
"Well, at least you can appreciate victory at the cost of disappointment."  
  
"Christine tell you that?"  
  
Speed just smirked, put the sunglasses back on and took Jake by the arm.  
  
"Who's Christine?" the other detective asked.  
  
"It's a damned car. I want to know what she's up to - clear your schedule and bring some running shoes." Booth watched the two of them walk off. "Wait. It's a hunch, but check to see if there are any Plymouth Hemi Cudas in the greater Metroplitan area."  
  
"Sure... wanna tell me why?"  
  
"Just a hunch... but I have a feeling that Christine will ride again in a few days..."  
  
**** 


	9. Old Meets New...

George looked at her as he leaned back in the chair across the desk from her. They'd gone through the entire list of people they knew that she'd pulled boosts with regularly and come up with a big fat disappointment. They'd gotten in contact with Sweet and Flynn. Only two were left on the list and he wasn't sure if he wanted to call them.  
  
"There's no one else. I told you, I got three rookies and Jake here."  
  
Reluctantly, George gave in and Speed called them both. Both of them agreed.  
  
"OK. With these four, my four possibly five, and me we got 10. Think we can do it in one night?"  
  
"You better, or get used to being dead."  
  
Jake just walked in on the last part after he'd met with Monica, Cody and Donovan. "Pardon...?"  
  
"It's OK baby. George wouldn't hurt me. He was pointing out that I'm in a do or die spot. How'd it go?"  
  
"He's still being stubborn."  
  
"Figured. I got four from our phone calls. We're meeting here later, about an hour or so. George, we need something to put the list on."  
  
As the three of them cleaned out the garage to make room for the others and hunted down a board large enough to put up the list, they were being watched.  
  
"Zat dem Johhny B?"  
  
"Yah, dat's dem. I can't believe Speed is back in town. L'il bitch betta not try and take mah business from Switch."  
  
"Don't mess with Speed man. I heard the Feds sprung her from the Pen. M'sistah has sistahs on the inside and word came down that Feds came to her for help and she made a deal wif 'em to get her out."  
  
"Oh shut up man! Speed ain't no Feds friend. She prolly jus' got parole."  
  
Still, the idea was planted in Johnny B's mind. A few hours later when the rest of Speed's motley crew showed up, he knew without a doubt that Speed was going to make for a big cut into his profits. And being the business minded crook he was, Johnny B went straight to Switch.  
  
----  
  
LATER THAT EVENING...  
  
  
"Alright boys and girls, time to play introductions. We got some new blood here, mixed with the seasoned pros. Monica can drive anything and is one hell of a smooth talker on the airwaves. Say hello Monica."  
  
Monica chuckled and waved to everyone.  
  
"Now, Mouse" she motioned to Cody. "Mouse is a compu-geek from hell. He tells me he can hack anything with a port and a connection. We're about to put him to the test." Cody grinned and restrained a giggle. He got to go undercover AND a streetname to boot. Although if it'd been up to him, it would have been a much tougher sounding name. Mouse was so wimpy...  
  
"Jake here is my protege, teaching him the finer points of boosting. He's got the driving part down pat already." She winked at Jake who smiled and nodded to everyone.  
  
"Now, my veterans - Sweet, Donny, Eric and Flynn. They ran with me back when I was in my glory days. But when I went up the river, they went straight. Ain't that a kick in the ass. Sweet has a knack for getting in and boosting the sweet rides without making so much as one hair scratch on the Lady. Eric and Donny are monster mechanics and know their way around engines and have forgotten more than I ever knew. Flynn is one hell of a driver, teaches driving for the DMV now." Everyone got a good laugh out of that, even Flynn. Speed was about to go over the list when the garage door opened and in walked, of all people, Donovan and Alex. Everyone's eye turned to them both and Speed grinned a million dollar smile. So Donovan wasn't all ass after all...  
  
"Ladies and Gentlemen, it's my honor to introduce to you Lexis and Sphynx. Alex, or Lexis, is a friend from the inside with a taste for the higher end Ladies... and Sphynx is an associate of hers with skills when it comes to the Italians. He doesn't talk much, if at all."   
  
She winked at Donovan who looked like he was about to burst. With that nickname, he knew he couldn't talk much, if at all. That was going to kill him eventually... if he didn't kill Speed first. Alex laughed and said hello. "We're here for you, no questions. How can we help?"  
  
"Funny you should ask, Lexis. I have in my hand the list. It's also going to be on a board for work." She handed the list to Sweet and Flynn. Everyone crowded around to see. Monica and Cody looked up at Speed like she was certifiable. In their minds no way, no how could anyone steal 50 cars in the next few days. They were brought back to the list by a long low whistle from Sweet.  
  
"Whoooaaaaa have we got Christine here?"  
  
"Yeah yeah, I know. I tried not to dwell on it too much last night when Switch handed me the list. Back to the list in general. Some of these aren't going to be a problem. The others, like the collectors and really exotics are going to be a pill. We're going to have to ... Wait, George, you explain this to them. You know better about this."  
  
"Yeah right, you were MY protege and you know a hell of a lot more than I do. With a list this big, we're pinned for time. We've got three nights to do this - One to shop, One to prep, One to do it. Now, the lis-"  
  
"Whoa, whoa... ONE NIGHT?? No way man, there is no way." Flynn shook his head even as Donny made the point.  
  
"We don't have a choice." She looked at Jake, then at Donovan. Both of them shook their heads 'no'. "Switch is going to kill me if I don't. If you don't want part of this, then you know where the door is and I won't hold it against you at all." Speed held her breath, waiting to see how many got up and left.  
  
When no one did, Speed blinked slowly, then smiled trying to keep from crying. Now she definitely owed it to them to keep them out of jail for this.  
  
"Mouse, work your magic and get us addresses on as many of these you can from the insurance databases. Monica, you get to help George name the ladies. Flynn, those that Mouse can't find, I need you to go to the DMV and get the addresses. Lexis, Jake, Sphynx, I need to talk to you three privately." Everyone nodded and set to work on their assignments.  
  
"I have a favor to ask."  
  
"I think you've gotten more than your fair share Speed," Donovan hissed.  
  
"Shh.... and I know. But these guys. They gave up a lot to come back and help me, help YOU with this. They deserve something in payment."  
  
"I see where she's going with this Frank." Alex smiled. "Immunity from the theft rap when this is over."  
  
Speed nodded. "I'll go willingly and without complaint back to prison if you promise me on your badge that these guys won't get into trouble over this - with the local police or even you guys."  
  
Jake did a doubletake. What about him? What about them?? Speed saw his look, as did Alex and Donovan. She was sure that Donovan had told Alex about the night before... even so, she didn't care. If she wanted to sleep with Jake, then that was her perogative. She looked at Jake and smiled a half hearted smile even as Donovan nodded.  
  
"Alright. You pull this off, we get this Switch and the cars back to their owners, and they get off of this rap and their records sealed."  
  
"DEAL!!" She could have kissed him at that moment, but even as she stretched out to hug him, he backed up.   
  
"Save it for someone who needs to cover themselves." He winked and resumed his silent demeanor as he went back to the rest of the group. Alex giggled and followed him, leaving a very pink cheeked Jake with a grinning Speed.  
  
"He knows?"  
  
She nodded. "Uh huh. I'm guessing we were tailed last night for our own safety and then under surveillance last night. And I'm sorry about springing this on you. But you yourself said that when this is over, I go back. I had thought about running, just taking one of the cars when no one was looking and making a run for it... but I got to thinking this morning and that wouldn't have been right. Or fair to you. I can't do that to you."  
  
Jake pulled her close and kissed her, his arms sliding around her waist. He was so in over his head with her. Alex elbowed Donovan and pointed to them. Frank shook his head and chuckled...  
  
**** 


	10. Unicorn

The next two nights passed easily. Each of the old school boosts were paired with one of the UC team - old and new. They got all the addresses and cars easily enough with Cody's help. Later that night, she took them down to the waterfront scrapyard where the cars were to be driven and dropped. The next night they paired off again to go scout the ladies. Each pair was given 10 addresses to handle. With 10 people on this, it was going to be easier than Speed had thought. But when she talked to Donovan, Alex and Jake in private, they set her straight again. Cody and Monica shouldn't go out on the boost. It just wasn't something they wanted to risk. True enough Monica and Cody were Federal Agents, but both of them had relatively little skill undercover. Reluctantly she agreed to keep them in the nest the next night. They weren't going to like this one bit. After they'd all gotten back from scouting, Sweet, Speed, Jake and Lexis went out to scout the very last one.  
  
They walked down the garage ramp of the high rent HighRise apartment tower, Sweet with a camera in hand. Speed slowed down and finally stopped, arms held out to stop the others. Before them sat a lemon yellow hot rod with black and chrome trim.  
  
"We saved the best for last... the 1971 Plymouth 426 Hemi Cuda Convertible..." Speed's voice was like a child in awe as she approached the car. "The 426... Sweet, the cuda?"  
  
Sweet chuckled, "yah yah, THE 'cuda..."  
  
"There she is..." Her eyes took on a slightly glazed appearance as she walked over to the car. "There's Christine." One hand lovingly touched the ducktail spoiler as she talked to it.  
  
"What's she doing?" Alex was confused.  
  
Sweet smiled and watched his friend. "She's talking to her, getting reacquainted. Christine and Speed have had a long and painful history. That's her unicorn."  
  
"Unicorn?" now it was Jake's turn to be confused. He was watching Speed talk to the car and caress the screaming yellow paint as if she were talking to a long lost lover.  
  
"Mythical creature, one horn" Alex offered.  
  
"Fabled creature, the one car that no matter how many times you boost it, something always goes wrong. She nearly killed Speed once, another time Speed got laid up with a broken arm and collarbone when it flipped over in a high speed turn."  
  
Jake was still watching her. He wasn't sure if he was jealous of the way she touched the car or not.  
  
"... just a smooth clear ride. We're just gonna to fly....." Speed looked up at Sweet and sighed a heartsick sigh. Slowly she walked by them all towards the garage entrance. "Did you get the picture?"  
  
Sweet nodded and snapped the shot, then grinned. "See you tomorrow Christine, you and your fine ass..."  
  
--  
  
Speed had sent Jake, Alex and Donovan on home with Cody and Monica. Cody had fallen asleep on his laptop and proceeded to drool all over the place. For someone who was so skinny, it took all four of them to get him into the Suburban. George had already gone to bed, which left Speed down in the garage bay staring at the list. It was a big list... and all 50 of the cars were listed with their names. she chuckled, remembering 'Mouse' asking why they were all named girls' names. 'So when you're speaking over the radio, you say Marla, Sharon, etc and no one is the wiser.'  
  
She shook her head slowly and fought back a yawn. For the first time in three days since she got handed the list, she actually felt like this was going to work. So deep in thought she was that she didn't hear Donny come back in.  
  
"Speed."  
  
She jumped, knocking off a loose pipe and sending it clattering to the ground. "what.." she hissed.  
  
"I need to ask you something."  
  
"yeah...?"  
  
"Why are you doin this?"  
  
"I told you why."  
  
"No, not Switch's threat. I mean this..." he gestured around. "Rounding us all up again, pulling off a monster heist in one night. I knew you had an ego but come on..."  
  
"It's not about an ego, Donny. I have my reasons. Please, just trust me on this."  
  
"You can't even tell an old friend? Come on, I've been with you since you got started in this. We've boosted more cars than we can count together and you won't even tell me why you're making a One Night Stand Come Back?"  
  
"I want to... God knows I do, but I can't. Everything will be explained Friday morning when this is all done and over with. Please, go home and get some rest. We've got a big night tomorrow night."  
  
He gave her a look that said volumes. "Be careful. Things changed after you left us. Just be extra careful not to get yourself killed or worse, one of the kids.  
  
He left, leaving her to her thoughts once more. His words haunted her. Things changed...  
  
----  
  
Switch perched on the end of his desk. He couldnt' believe what he was hearing - from one of Speed's own crew no less. "You're sure about this?"  
  
"Yeah, I over heard her talking with her man and two of the new crew about her going back to prison in exchange for immunity for her crew."  
  
He toyed with the slight fuzz of a goatee on his chin. Speed had indeed turned Fed Pidgeon. When Johnny B had come to him a day or so ago and said that a girl he knew on the inside had told him that Speed was talked to by the Feds, he didn't believe him at all. But this, this was from one of her own... And if she was turned, and doing a job for him... that meant that she was moling him out and he was under surveillance. "Does she know that you know?"  
  
"No, man, she's just too damned busy with getting everyone back safely. She doesn't know I still work for you."  
  
"Alright. Here's what we're going to do..."  
  
**** 


	11. 24 Hours and Counting...

Speed rolled over in Jake's bed where she spent the night again. Jake was still asleep - this nighttime prowling had thrown off his sleep cycle quite a bit. She was sure that Alex and Donovan, along with Cody and Monica were still hard asleep too. The clock read 10 am. she kept going over the night in her head. She would be paired with Donny, Jake with Eric, Donovan with Flynn and Alex with Sweet. That left George, Monica and Mouse at the garage to monitor the radio frequencies and to mark off the list.  
  
She propped her head up on one elbow, watching Jake as he slept. The shipyard would have one of Switch's people there to keep count on their own list as the ladies rolled in and other people to handle the loading of the cars once they dropped them off.  
  
Speed toyed with a lock of hair that curled over Jake's forehead as he slept. 8 years was a long time to be attracted to someone. Deep down she put it up to the mystique of the first cop to ever match her gear for gear in a race and finally catch her. But after the last few nights with him, she wasn't sure it was that simple anymore. Was the ice-eyed legend behind the boost finally developing a heart? She'd always taken care of her crew, putting them ahead of her own safety. But this was different...  
  
She laid down, staring at the ceiling and going over Donovan's plan in her head. The boost goes like normal but the last four cars... Speed would save Christine for last and while Donny was dropping her off, Donovan, Alex, Jake and the rest of their team would be at the shipyard to arrest the ring. Then they'd follow Speed down to the shipyard where they'd arrest Switch. Nice and easy sail. But the rest of her crew would be left out of the bust and later, when it was all over, they'd be told of what happened and that they were given immunity before they even started. Speed hoped that they'd forgive her what she'd pulled them into.  
  
Jake woke up, peeking one eye open at Speed next to him. He playfully bit her in the shoulder as he raised up and leaned over her. They didn't have to be back at George's for a few more hours, not until about 5 that night. So what would it hurt to spend the rest of the day in bed with a woman he was falling harder and harder in love with? He now had an idea of what sort of dilemma Alex felt regarding Carlos... and he didn't think he'd ever criticize her again for it.  
  
It was going to hurt like hell when she went back to prison.  
  
----  
  
Donovan, Alex, Monica and Cody were in the ops center. Monica and Cody were discussing some of the finer points of how to boost some of the older model cars without having to cross the wires. Donovan was coordinating with the local task force and Alex was in the gym. Each of them were nervous in their own way but doing the best they could to pass it off. This was a first for them all. Going undercover was old hat for Frank and Alex, but it was new to Cody and Monica. Cody was beside himself with the job and being trusted to do an assignment. Monica was having a hard time keeping him in one place and focused. When Speed and Frank had told them both that they were going to be staying behind and not going out on the acutal pick ups, Cody had looked like he was about to burst out in tears. Monica didn't care one way or the other. She'd had more fun talking to and mentally profiling each of the people in Speed's crew - in addition to seeing Speed in action as a leader. There was more there than just a car thief who was a legend in her own time. There was a whole lot more to Marissa Randall than that. It was just unfortunate in Monica's opinion that she got turned into the wrong profession.  
  
Alex and Donovan were facing something different in this game. Both had been undercover before, that wasn't the problem. But for them both, an undercover assignment usually lasted weeks, or even months. Very rarely had it only been one week before the bust happened. They both were worried about being alone without backup until Speed reminded them that they were going to be in contact with George and company at the garage via long range walkie talkies. That gave some measure of comfort to Frank - who's main concern was keeping Jake, Alex, Monica, Cody... and Speed too.. safe. He had no choice but to trust in Speed's vehement declaration that her crew was to be trusted at all costs. Even so, he had Cody run background on them all - just so that he'd have an idea of the basic players. All of them turned up clean of course, just the basics for car theives... a few arrests, speeding tickets, etc. Nothing that would send up a red flag in his mind as something that would jeopardize the safety of his people. The other factor for Donovan in this game was that, as Sphynx, he couldn't talk until this was over. He also wasn't in control of the game. He'd unwillingly and unwittingly given the reins of the carriage over to Speed.  
  
Alex knew this instinctively and that's why she'd volunteered to come off of the extra cover she'd originally been put on and jumped in with him. Besides, she'd developed a liking for Speed over the past few days. But in order to keep herself sane, she'd taken to working in the gym and reading up on her automotive diagrams. In order for this to work, she was going to have to know what the hell she was doing. She'd watched Speed, listened to her all day yesterday since they arrived and gotten a small mini lecture in the basics of breaking into a car. Slim jims and popping the locks were one thing. Stripping ingition tumblers and jumping circuits were something else. This was probably one of the more difficult assignments. Multiple language skills she had in abundance, self defense skills she had in abundance, deception and decoy skills she had in abundance. Speed was right - it'd take more than a month to learn what Speed knew about the fine details of boosting cars. It was going to be a wild night and an even wilder morning when all the deals and truths came out in the wash.  
  
In a way she felt sorry for Speed. Speed knew what she was giving up for doing this. But that was something that had endeared her to Alex - the willingness to sacrifice herself for the well-being of her friends. She also felt sorry for Speed because she knew where the woman was at with Jake. And it was the same place she'd been before with Carlos. Even Donovan felt bad for Speed. That's why he'd pulled a few favors and gotten her record sealed. She'd be given a new identity and the option of a new life. If she wanted to stay here in Chicago, then she herself would have to work out the particulars. Neither Alex nor Frank had seen Jake so happy or at ease with things as he had been in the last week.  
  
----  
  
At 6 pm that night Speed was standing in front of the mish-mosh of car theives. She had found her old black trench from before... the one George had given her with the extra inside pockets for her toolkit and heavy enough to conceal the strips of duct tape she'd need for breaking windows. She felt at home seeing everyone down there and her face lit up in a smile. She looked around and finally worked up the breath to say what she'd been thinking for the last few hours. Her voice was soft, but firm in the rallying...  
  
"I know what you guys are doing, and I thank you. It means a lot to me. If anything looks out of place or doesn't feel right I want you to cut bait and run. We all have the skills and ability, so this should be a walk in the park for us. Think slow, keep it real and we'll get through this just fine."  
  
Donny and Sweet murmured an 'amen' even as Flynn winked at her. Donovan, Jake, Alex, Monica, and Cody were all together near George. The comraderie they were seeing was much like what they felt for each other - family. Suddenly what Speed had told Donovan back in prison when they'd first gone to talk to her rang true. Each boost in their own crew was a family unto itself. Speed proved it by sacrificing her own freedom for theirs... and they've proven it by sticking with her to finish this monstrous task.  
  
Speed looked back over her shoulder at Sweet with a slightly demented grin. "Tell it to me Sweet!"  
  
Sweet grinned and pushed play on the boom box. Out came the first notes of a song that sounded familiar to everyone. Donny, Sweet, Speed, George, Eric and Flynn all closed their eyes and an aura came over them as the song continued. The five newcomers looked around as the old crew seemed to transform into different people. Speed's face tilted upwards towards the ceiling as her hands shimmied a bit. The flourescent lights high over head bathed her in a near demonic light as she opened her eyes with a smile and purred out, "Alright people, let's master crazy."  
  
**** 


	12. 3 Hours and a Lifetime...

3 HOURS TIL DEADLINE...  
  
They'd boosted 44 of the 50 ladies and the teams had spread out again to make the last 6. With two hours to go and 4 teams, it should have been easy. Flynn and Sphynx were on their way to get the HumVee converted Limousine, Eric and Jake were assigned the 1962 Aston Martin DB1, Donny and Speed were on their way to pick up the 1971 DeThomaso Pantera and the 2002 LandRover Special Edition.  
Alex and Sweet were on their way to pick up the 2002 Lincoln Navigator Deluxe Edition. The owner lived in suburbia hell about 30 miles outside of the greater metroplitan area. What they hadn't counted on was Cody sneaking into the back of the minivan. They were on the way to pick up their last car in a housing subdivision. Monica had let Sweet and Alex off just down the street. Cody rolled out of the back hatch and snuck up behind them.  
  
"MOUSE?! What the hell are you doing?" Alex grabbed him by the front of his shirt when he started protesting.  
  
"I just wanted to go on a boost! I'm part of the team too!!" he whined.  
  
"Later Lexis. Let's go get the car." Sweet pulled her off of him and set to work on the SUV. The other factor they hadn't counted on was Johnny B. He'd followed them, waiting for the right moment to spring. If he created a big enough mess, perhaps even got them arrested, then that would be one less car that Speed could turn in and then Switch would have to get rid of Speed. It was perfect in his mind.  
  
The SUV proved to be little problem at all. What turned out to be the problem was Sweet not being able to find his way out of the neighborhood. By accident they turned down a wrong street and wound up at a neighborhood gas station. Sweet shook his head and went inside to ask for direction on how to get out of this suburbia hell while Alex was busy berating Cody for sneaking along when he was given specific orders to stay back at the garage.  
  
It was Cody who spotted the Mercedes that pulled in front of them sharply as Sweet was getting back into the SUV. Sweet threw the car into reverse only to be cut off by a Tahoe SUV behind them. As one of the thugs stepped out of the car and fired, he threw it into drive and laid pedal to the floor, the front end of the passenger side smashing into the bumper of the Mercedes.  
  
"JEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESUS MARY AND JOSPEH!" Sweet swore and tore off down the road in the directions given by the attendant. He noticed that the Taho was hot on their tail. "Lexis... we got trouble...  
  
A faint wheezing from the back seat drew Alex's attention away from Sweet. "Oh shit!!" Cody had been hit by one of the bullets and was bleeding all over the place. Alex climbed into the back seat and pulled off the sweat jacket she'd been wearing. Pressing it to the wound she yelled at Sweet to get to a hospital on the double.  
  
"Two words Lexis - STOLEN CAR!! They ask questions at a hospital!"  
  
"DO IT DAMMIT! I'm a Federal Agent!!" As Sweet did a double take, then ducked as another bullet came whizzing through the back window and past his head. They swerved into an oncoming lane of traffic even as Alex pulled her radio. She switched frequencies and started rambling off codes and names and given advanced warning of a GSW coming in by private vehicle. By the time she was finished, the Tahoe and it's occupants had been detained by local police and they had been given a police escort to the drop-off.  
  
****  
  
While Sweet and Alex were away for the Navigator, Donny and Speed were on their way to pick up the Pantera in the Land Rover.  
  
"Are you going to tell me something?" Donny's voice was so quiet that Speed almost missed it.  
  
"Tell you what?"  
  
"That you're not really on parole..."  
  
Speed looked at Donny so long he thought they were going to rear end the car ahead of them. But she looked back out onto the road and sighed. "No."  
  
"And Jake isn't a pro boost."  
  
"No."  
  
"You're not doing this for a come back, or because Switch threatened to kill you if you didn't."  
  
"No."  
  
"Then why?"  
  
She sighed again and leaned her head back onto the headrest. Perhaps if she could get Donny to understand then it'd be helpful when she told everyone else. They only had 5 more cars to boost and turn in then while she was out boosting Christine, Donovan would lower the boom on them all. If Donny understood, then he could help smooth things over. "I'm on a short furlough from prison... A week ago they came to me for some information, explained why they wanted me to help. He's a drugrunner, Donny. He steals the cars, puts the money under the carpet and ships them down to South and Central America. Where in turn the sellers ship the merchandise back in some form. If it was a straight boost ring, I'd have told them to go to hell. But this... Sphynx's name is Frank Donovan, Lexis is Alex Cross, Monica is Monica Davis, and Mouse is Cody. They're all Agents with the Federal Justice Department."  
  
Donny stared hard at her for a long, long while. She'd turned on them...  
  
"God Donny, don't looke at me like that. I didn't turn you guys in. That was one of my conditions."  
  
"You made conditions... But you're going back when this is over, correct?"  
  
"Yes. But you guys aren't. As of 5pm last night your records, ALL of your records were sealed from here back. You're all getting a walk on this for helping the Government and the detectives from G.R.A.B. can't ever touch you guys again for past sins. It's my sacrifice for you guys. I go willingly and without fuss back to jail and you guys get a 'get out of jail free' pass."  
  
"Your guys have that power?" He sounded skeptical.  
  
"Agent Donovan, from what Jake has told me, was and is one of the FBI's most celebrated and best negotiator. He does have that power. We're here. Donny..." she put the car in park and got out, coming around to his window even as he was getting out.  
  
"I need your help to pacify the others when Donovan tells them. You're going to be dropping me off for Christine. Once I'm heading for Switch's, you'll be back at the garage. All the cars but this one will be there and the locals along with the Feds will swing in and round everyone of Switch's people up. Donovan will tell everyone what's been going on, then he and his team will meet me at Switch's to arrest him."  
  
"Speed..."  
  
"Yes, my friend?"  
  
"Be careful." He kissed her forehead and hugged her. She'd grown up with that man. He was about 10 years older than she was and took to her like a kid sister. He watched as she easily slid inside the Pantera and fired it up. While they drove, Speed was going over and over the plan in her head... Donny was mulling things over. All the idiosyncracies were falling into place now. And he had to admit, she was honestly thinking about them. Prison must have changed her, he guessed... or was it Jake? He hadn't missed the looks and the odd kisses or touches that his 'kid sister' and Jake had exchanged.  
  
About the time that they were pulling into the drop-off, 'Sphynx' and Flynn were getting into the minivan to go back to the garage. They waited upon seeing Speed and Donny arrive.  
  
"What's the count?"  
  
Switch's man eyed her, then looked down the list. "48. You still got the Hemi and the Navigator to deliver. And an hour and a half to do it in."  
  
Speed grinned and turned to look at Donovan. "I'm guessing that Eric and Jake are on their way back to the Garage...?"  
  
"Yeah, something like that."  
  
It was then that the Navigator came squealing to a halt in the yard and out scrambled Sweet and Lexis.  
  
"Oh this does not look good for you Speed."   
  
Speed turned to see Alex hauling a bloody Cody out of the back seat. Swearing, she grabbed a chair and wheeled it under Cody even as Donovan's eyes bored into her. She looked up at him with a confused look.  
  
"We didn't know he'd hidden in the back of the van when Monica dropped us off." Alex pushed him over to the waiting minivan even as Speed stood there with Donny. "He's been shot once Frank, apparently some car-jackers decided we were an easy target."   
  
"I'll drive him." Donny jumped into the driver's seat even as Frank got into the back. The look he gave Speed could have melted steel. She'd made a promise to him to bring everyone home safe... and now this. Inside he knew it wasn't her fault Cody got stupid, but all the same...  
  
Alex put her hand on Speed's shoulder. "It's not your fault." she pulled off her radio and switched frequencies again, telling Monica to head to the hospital, that Frank would be giving her directions.  
  
"Let's finish this."   
  
Speed looked up at Sweet as he said it. One look between them said that Sweet knew Alex wasn't a boost either. How had things gone so horribly wrong in so short of a time? In Sweet's mind it was one thing -   
  
Christine.  
  
**** 


	13. The Clock is Ticking.....

Alex had gone back to George's as Monica rushed off to the hospital. By the time she arrived, Frank was walking in too. They looked around at who was left. Flynn, George, Alex and Frank. Monica was with Cody and Donny at the hospital. Speed and Sweet were out with the last car. That left Jake and Eric. Neither of which were there.  
  
"Where's Jake and Eric?" Donovan's voice reflected the coming sense of dread. Cody had gotten shot, and from what Alex had told him about the scouting of Christine, this wasn't going to be a smooth ride... what else was going to happen before this was over?  
  
George looked over at the others, then at Frank. "They never came back." Dread hit both Frank and Alex. Alex got onto the radio. "Speed, Sweet... Jake and Eric never made it back to the garage."  
  
Sweet and Speed exchanged glances. If Eric and Jake weren't back at the garage... Speed's eyes widened.  
  
"Sonofabitch..." She turned and looked out the window. Switch had him, he had to... She raised the radio to her mouth, "Eric."  
  
Nothing...  
  
"ERIC."  
  
Still nothing.  
  
"Eric goddammit answer me you little punk!"  
  
This time there was a static click and Switch's voice came over the radio. "Now now Speed. That's no way to talk to your friend Eric."  
  
Frank and Alex were listening even as Speed and Sweet's thoughts came to a crashing halt.  
  
"I got your man here, Speed. You got my cars?"  
  
"All but one."  
  
"You surprised me Speed, made a liar out of me too. I told Johnny B no way, that you weren't a Fed Pidgeon. But here you are, and here I am with your man... who's an Agent. You really shouldn't have done that, you know Speed. Make me look bad."  
  
"Oh fuck off you arrogant little weasel. Puked in any floors lately?"  
  
Back at George's everyone's eyebrows went up when they heard Federal and Agent. Flynn and George backed up just as Donny came into the garage. The two of them started at once about how they'd been duped and that they were Feds. Donny calmed them down as best he could.  
  
"Speed told me while we were out picking up the Pantera and the LandRover." He at once went into the details...  
  
"YES... Speed knew. She made herself a bargaining chip..." he went on even as he heard Speed and Switch's radio conversation fell strangely silent.   
  
But the 'oh god' they heard over the radio from Speed made them all, even Switch, fall silent.  
  
----  
  
Speed had been yelling at Switch over the hand held radio as she got out of the car. Only as she walked into the garage did she stop talking altogether. She paused at the entrance and looked back at Sweet. The look on his face was calm and composed. But they both knew that the other was skitzing on this car. Christine had managed to mangle and wound Speed at least twice before, almost killed her one of those two times. And if Speed's nerves were jangled by Switch's holding Jake hostage, then she'd bypass the plan she'd let Sweet in on as they made their way over to pick up the car and go straight to Switch's. Speed smiled a half-hearted smile again and tried to make like she wasn't worried. But her footsteps echoing in the cavernous parking garage reminded her that this was far from over.  
  
The gleaming lemon twist yellow exterior of the 426 HemiCuda seemed alive as she walked towards it. Popping the lock was easy enough and she slid down into the leather seat behind the wheel. Pulling out her tools, she picked up two of them and worked the ignition...  
  
"Come on Chris.... no trouble this time, please. I got someplace to get to and someone important to help... I know you and I have had a long and troubled history, but if you take care of me, then I'll take good care of you..." She smiled and purred as she twisted the ignition with the tools and the 426 Hemi engine rumbled to life.  
  
She had the radio in hand and was rolling towards the entrance when she spotted a car behind her. She looked at Sweet who was in the minivan still as she stopped at the entrance. The car behind her was a G.R.A.B. unit and had radioed Detective Booth that she was at the car. Booth and his partner pulled around the corner as she turned onto the street. Speed was about to tell Switch she had the last car and was on her way, but when she saw Booth... all she could say was "oh god."  
  
**** 


	14. Crosstown Chase, Part Duex

Alex and Donovan looked at each other as Speed's words sank in. Donny, Flynn and George looked at each other. To them, that was the clear and present signal that something had gone horribly wrong. It was Sweet's voice that came over the radio and told them that Detective Booth had shown his ugly presence.  
  
Alex and Donovan both took off at a run for the Suburban. That meant only one thing... another cross town car race with Switch's scrapyard being the finish line. If there was a G.R.A.B. detective on her tail, then it was going to be messy. They both had heard Jake's story about the last chase Speed had led through Chicago. Alex switched channels on her radio to call the tactical team in on the scrapyard when they were done with the drop-off location. Donovan was listening to Sweet and Donny talking. Nothing had been heard from Speed after the whisper...  
  
Speed was staring at Booth for all of 5 seconds as she switched her radio frequencies, looking for Booth's... once she found it, she wedged it down next to her and turned the volume up as loud as it would go. Having an ear on their talks would be an advantage... She threw the gear into first as she laid pedal. With a squeal, Speed and Christine peeled out of the garage in the opposite direction of Booth... who flipped on the red and blues, the siren and took off after her while swearing a blue streak.  
  
"Didn't think you'd make this easy Speed..."  
  
"Dispatch, this is One-Baker-Eleven in pursuit of a 1971 Plymouth Hemi cuda, yellow, convertible, heading east..."  
  
Sweet whipped the minivan across the garage entrance, cutting off the other police car from following. Then he picked up the radio and told everyone else that Speed was off and running with 'blue' hot in pursuit...  
  
Donovan frowned and aimed the Suburban in the direction that the police band on Alex's radio said that Speed was heading. With any luck they could get there and head off the G.R.A.B. unit and allow Speed to get to the scrapyard.  
  
Speed, however, wheeled the car around a corner while shifting into second. The rising sun reminded her that the deadline was getting close. But she realized that now there was no deadline to meet. Switch had Jake hostage and her life was going to be the ransom... it was her fault he was in that jam and it would be her to get him out. The squealing of tires caused her to look in the rearview mirror. More squad cars had joined the pursuit. The radio dispatcher's voice crackled over advising caution in public areas. She shifted into third and headed into a less populated part of town...  
  
Switch was laughing his head off. Speed was playing with fire and he had a Federal Agent on the hook. He dragged a slightly dazed Jake over to the window. "Now watch closely, Agent Jake, your woman is going to come racing into that yard and to her death..."  
  
The garbage truck came out of nowhere, causing Speed to slam on both the clutch and the brake. The nose of the 'cuda stopped mere inches from the huge truck... quickly she threw it into reverse and started backing up. But lo and behold if Booth and his car didn't appear behind her... snapping the wheel around, she angled into another side alley still running backwards at roughly 50 miles an hour. Speed and Christine shot across a street mere inches from a public transit bus that slammed on it's brakes but still managed to slam into the police car that had gotten in between her and Booth. The traffic accident brought Booth's puruit to a screeching halt, allowing Speed the precious time to wheel the car around and return to a forward driving motion instead of reverse...  
  
Speed blew across the next intersection while shifting out of first and into second. There was no pileup in her wake as the light was green in her favor. However, more police units had rejoined the chase, their red and blues flashing like Christmas lights in her rearview. Speed's palms were sweating as she kept jamming the clutch pedal down and shifting. Out of nowhere a black suburban came wheeling up along side of her. Staring down from the passenger seat was Alex, yelling something.  
  
Alex was trying to get her point across to Speed to tell her that she needed to switch frequencies and let Frank talk to her. But Speed shook her head at Alex and threw it into third. The 426 Hemi engine and twin Carter AFB four-barrels were nearing their 490 torque max and getting damned close to the 425HP. But it still managed to pull away from the suburban, growling like a pissed off dragon that's being pushed to it's limit.  
  
Alex grabbed up her radio and started in on the Police frequency, trying to get them to desist and to let Speed go... but a very terse Detective Booth came over and declared that in no uncertain terms would he let Marissa Randall go this time. Frank looked at Alex with a look of near horror. This detective was going to get Jake killed if he didnt give it up...  
  
Meanwhile, dispatch had called in an air unit to track down the Hemi and Speed. "Air unit One in pursuit of yellow hot rod, suspect is heading north towards the waterfront."  
  
"Copy that Air One, DO NOT LOSE HER."  
  
Inside the suburban, Alex had yanked her sidearm out and checked it over to make sure that it was ready. This was going to be ugly when they finally hit the scrapyard. She did the same with Frank's weapon. They were getting close. On Frank's radio they could hear the others at the garage trying to get through to Speed. None of them not even Frank and Alex, knew that she'd changed channels and couldn't hear them at all.  
  
Speed saw the huge gate to the scrapyard in front of her. The barricade was down and the guard was waving her down. She threw it up into fourth long enough to brace herself and kick the gas. The nose of the 'cuda hit the flimsy barricade and splintered it into millions of pieces.  
  
She threw the car into nuetral and slammed on the clutch and brake at the same time. The 'cuda snarled it's protest and fishtailed on the loose gravel, sending a plume of it into the air even as she killed the ignition and threw open the door... this wasn't over by a long shot.  
  
Hot on her tail was Frank and Alex, the police copter overhead and them both followed by Detective Booth and about 15 squad cars.  
  
High above them, Jake watched it all with a sense of gut-wrenching horror.  
  
**** 


	15. Remember Me...

As Jake climbed the stairs to his apartment, that damned song kept replaying in his head... so did the events earlier that morning. Jake wasn't sure what to do. He unlocked the door and walked in as if on automatic. He was numb all over despite the warm afternoon sun shining in through the windows.  
  
'sittin' on the beach  
the island king of love  
deep in fijian seas  
deep in some blissful dream  
where the goddess finally sleeps'  
  
He looked around the apartment slowly. Three nights... three nights ago they'd made love desperately on the couch, then again in his bed - more tenderly that time... a ray of lightfiltered through the bllinds and lit up the apartment, beaming directly onto the couch in front of him. Bitterly he felt a hot tear roll down his face...  
  
'in the lap of her lover  
subdued in all her rage  
and I am aglow with the taste  
of the demons driven out  
and happily replaced   
with the presence of real love  
the only one who saves'  
  
Over and over he saw that bright yellow hot rod come screaming into the yard, kicking up gravel and dust when she reined it in to a stop. He saw her jump out of the door and go running across the yard below them and into the warehouse where Switch had him held hostage. Switch had thought it would be funny for Jake to watch Speed try to come to his rescue and had let him watch from the third story window...  
  
'I wanna dance with you  
I see a world where people live and die with grace  
the karmic ocean dried up and leave no trace  
I wanna dance with you  
I see a sky full of the stars that change our minds  
and lead us back to a world we would not face'  
  
No... not again... too late he closed his eyes and tried to stop it from coming, but he heard her footsteps running from catwalk to catwalk, heard other voices too... he could make out Alex's voice, Frank's voice too... there were others that he assumed were the officers fromt he squad cars he'd seen following Frank, Alex and Speed into the yard... he'd twisted and pushed Switch into a wall with a vengeance and ran like hell was nipping at his heels. He had to get to Speed and get her out of there...  
  
'the stillness in your eyes  
convinces me that I   
I don't know a thing   
and I been around the world and I've  
tasted all the wines  
a half a billion times  
came sickened to your shores   
you showed me what this life is for'  
  
A gunshot rang out, banging off of something metallic, the echo lost in the steam and other noises of the scrapyard... He was lost in the catwalks, Jake didn't care if Switch found him or if he was an open target. ... then he heard Speed's voice... Switch had her cornered. 'you don't want to do this....' ... 'yeah I do. I get rid of you and I become a legend.' ... 'you kill me and you become a target of the Federal Government' ... 'you're so full of it. I already know you turned rat to the Feds. You honestly think they give a damn if I kill you?' ... 'then go ahead, Switch, pull that trigger and see what happens.' More shouting back and forth, Frank's voice joining the shouts... He came around the corner of the catwalk to see Switch fire... then again... and again... Another shot rang out as Donovan fired... Switch was screaming in panic as he fell backwards off the high grating and landed through the roof of the office below with a crash.  
  
Jake sank onto the couch, right in front of the spot where a few nights ago she'd had called out his name in pleasure. He couldn't stop the tears...  
  
"I wanna dance with you  
I see a world where people live and die with grace  
the karmic ocean dried up and leave no trace  
I wanna dance with you  
I see a sky full of the stars that change our minds  
and lead us back to a world we would not face'  
  
He had shot her, Switch had shot Speed... Marissa... he saw her sink to her knees as Switch fell back... then her head roll forward over her chest as everything slowed down to slow motion. She landed face down onto the grated catwalk. Jake ran towards them, Donovan turning around slowly...   
  
'in this altered state  
full of so much pain and rage  
you know we got to find a way to let it go'  
  
Jake knelt down as Donovan moved back and holstered his gun. He looked at Jake and whispered 'I'm sorry...' He'd tried to save her life by shooting Switch, but Switch managed to get the jump on him... Jake turned Marissa over and pulled her into his lap. He tried to press down on the bloody mass of her chest and stomach to stop the bleeding, but inside he knew it was too late...  
  
'sittin' on the beach  
the island king of love  
deep in fijian seas  
deep in the heart of it all'  
  
Marissa's eyes opened slowly, fluttering a bit as she tried to take a breath. A trickle of blood seeped out of her lips and wandered it's way down her cheek as she lifted one hand to Jake's face. He kissed her palm gently and she tried to smile. Her eyes were so glassy and distant... 'no Marissa.... don't go...' Her lips moved slowly and silently... she was trying to say something... he bent over and listened to the almost non-existent whisper... 'love... you....... Jake...'  
  
'where the goddess finally sleeps  
after eons of war and lifetimes  
she smilin' and free, nothin' left  
but a cracking voice and a song, oh lord'  
  
The breath caught in his throat. He didn't realize that he'd been sobbing.   
  
Speed died in his arms, his name had been the last breath across her lips. Her beautiful ice blue eyes were fixed on a distant spot. A strong hand gripped his shoulder gently, even as it's owner knelt down next to him. 'Jake. She's gone...' Donovan reached out and gently pulled Jake's hand off of her stomach, then laid her down onto the iron flooring. He pulled Jake up to his feet and led him out of the warehouse. Dozens of police cars had arrived and the G.R.A.B. detectives were spreading out, arresting the people who worked in the ring. They were pulling the cars out of their cargo boxes and taking down the numbers. None of them had realized until then that the drop-off point was just across the canal from the scrapyard and as each cargo container was loaded, it was liftd across the canal via crane and into the scrapyard to wait for the cargo ship... which was due to arrive at 715 am - 15 minutes after the last car was supposed to be delivered.  
  
Jake was numb as he let Donovan put him into the front seat of the waiting Suburban. He looked down at the blood on his hand. Her blood... a flash of yellow caught his eyes as they police impounded the Hemi cuda... Christine... Marissa's Unicorn... Sweet's words came back to haunt him. 'it's the one car no matter how many times you boost it, something always goes wrong...' He hadn't stopped crying the entire way back.   
  
Jake curled up around the pillow from the couch she'd slept on for a short while... it still smelled like her...   
  
'I wanna dance with you  
I see a world where people live and die with grace  
the karmic ocean dried up and leave no trace'  
I wanna dance with you  
I see a sky full of the stars that change our minds  
and lead us back to a world we would not face  
we would not face  
we would not face  
we would not face   
we would not face   
we would not face'  
  
The last thought he had as he drifted off into dreams was that things were going to be complicated in the morning...  
  
(( as in chapter 6, song is titled "I want to dance with you" by LIVE on the 'Distance To Here' CD ))  
  
**** 


	16. Ghosts of The Heart

3 MONTHS LATER  
  
Jake had been to see the company psychiatrist more than a few times since the auto theft ring bust. Life was returning to as normal as it could get when one had suffered such a tragedy as losing someone you loved. He'd been pulled off of duty until Monica and Frank felt he was fit to go back out on the line... and judging from the skeptical looks they kept giving him, it wasn't going to be any time soon.  
  
"Tell me about her Jake."  
  
"I already have. What more do you want to hear?" His voice was getting a little irritated. So was he really. This was the umpteenth time that the shrink had asked him to tell about Marissa. How many more times would he have to talk about what little he knew about her?  
  
In reality, Jake didn't know that much about her. True, she was a legend. True, she was the best at what she did. True, she was beautiful. And she was loved... both by him and countless other individuals in the greater Chicago Metro area.  
  
"Dozens of odd people showed up at the funeral. Her mother and father had disowned her, calling her a disgrace for being a lifetime criminal. So the crew she ran with all chipped in and paid for a modest funeral. I chipped in too, I think the rest of the team did too... I tell you, it was like a 'who's who' of car boosts. Even Johnny B showed up to pay his respects to her.. and he hated her for stealing his business."  
  
"Do you still go to her grave?"  
  
"Now and then, when I think I've forgotten what she looks like. I find myself trying to remember the smell of her skin right at the curve of her throat. But I'll never forget those eyes." Jake looked off out of the window in silence. Those eyes... they haunted him. He dreamt about the way her eyes looked when he held her at the end. Fixed and distant...  
  
--  
  
Jake put his overcoat on to ward off the higher winds of the early autumn air as he stepped out of the psychiatrist's office. He stood there on the street, watching the people go by around him. In the short while with Speed, under her tutelage, he picked up on what a car boost was, how they operated, and what their world was like. He had a trump card that most law enforcement didn't - he'd been one. Not technically, he WAS, after all, undercover at the time, but when undercover, one assumes the life,mannerisms and identity of the assignment. In the months that followed, he had asked himself more than a dozen times of falling in love with her was part of the assignment or if it was real. It was a question he asked himself again as he started to walk, heading for home.  
  
The brisk air tousled his hair and toyed with his coat as he walked. It also cleared his mind and allowed him to just not think anymore. He was tired, tired of Monica asking how he was, tired of Frank asking him if he wanted to talk, tired of the shrink asking him to think about this and that and then tell about it. Doubts had begun to creep into his mind as to whether he'd ever get over this enough to go back into duty. He didn't feel bad, didn't feel numb, wasn't angry or sad or bitter or resentful... he just didn't feel anymore. Jake Shaw had always been passionate about who he was and what he did. And this scared him. What scared him even more is that he didn't know if this would end or if he'd feel hollow for the rest of his life. By the time he'd reached his apartment building, he'd come to the conclusion that he was just normal and this is what it felt like to lose someone you loved deeply. And he'd come to the decision that he did truly love Marissa Fian Randall - even though he'd met her eight years ago when he arrested her and then truly only known her a week. It was more than that to him. On a deeper level they had known each other all their lives, like they were connected on a plane that few people were ever aware of. Alex had it with Carlos. He had it with Marissa. Both he and Alex lost the ones they loved...   
  
Jake was deep enough in his thoughts that he didn't pay much attention to the street surrounding him. If he had, he would have noticed a silver and black 1967 Shelby GT 500 parked in front of his building. He also would have noticed the blonde woman getting out of the driver's side as he climbed the steps to the main door.  
  
"Agent Shaw?"  
  
He froze in his steps. That voice... Slowly he turned around to see who was speaking to him. If a man had ever come that close to fainting, Federal Agent Jake Shaw would have right then and there. The woman was roughly 5'9 in heighth with pale blonde hair that just reached her jawline. It was classy looking, but still with the odd twisted locks of hair scattered throughout dred style. She was wearing a pair of black slacks and a long duster coat in leather that reached to her calves. The sunglasses hid her eyes from view but the tight cropped top drew his eyes down to the barbell that pierced her navel.  
  
"Excuse me, are you Jake Shaw?"  
  
That mouth... those lips... that voice. Jake was beginning to tremble. She stepped closer, the high heels of her boots clicking on the pavement as she neared him. ~don't take off the sunglasses... don't take them off... if you do I might lose it right here and now if you do~   
  
She pursed her lips and reached up to remove her sunglasses. Her hands were neat, manicured almost and slender... just like Marissa's. Despite knowing her way around an engine compartment, Marissa had kept her hands immaculately clean.  
  
The sunglasses came off and staring back at him was the second most beautiful pair of ice blue eyes that he'd ever seen.  
  
**** 


	17. Vanessa and Sara

"Sir?"  
  
The voice filtered through the haze...  
  
There was a light patting on his cheek... " 'rissa...? "  
  
The woman chuckled and leaned back. Yes, this was Jake Shaw, it had to be. "No, Agent Shaw. I'm not Marissa Fian Randall."  
  
Jake sat up like a bolt of lightening and looked at her hard. He felt like he'd just seen a ghost as she'd taken off her sunglasses. Slowly he looked around. He was now sitting on the stoop of his apartment building next to this woman who looked and sounded eerily like Speed. But Speed was dead, he'd held her, listened to her last breath, last words...  
  
"Please, are you Federal Agent Jake Shaw? I really would like to know before I start babbling on..."  
  
"yes..." he croaked out. She didn't talk like Speed...  
  
"Whew. Glad we got that out of the way. I rather figured you were when you fainted and called me 'rissa."  
  
"I did not faint."  
  
"Yeah, and I'm a natural brunette. That's beside the point. What IS the point, is that I've finally found you."  
  
"Finally?"  
  
"Yup, finally. Took me just over two months to track you down and get everything finished. As you know, our parents disowned Fian when she was around 20. didn't think it'd be good form to have a boost in the family. So they pretended that they didn't have a daughter named Marissa Fian. It nearly killed her. Firstborn and the spoiled rotten one by the time I came along. Daddy's little girl and then whammo, disowned and disavowed. They didn't even come to her trial eight years ago. So, needless to say that when Geo-"  
  
Jake had been listening to the woman start spilling out all this information, eyes wide like he'd been stunned or shocked. When she said something about 'our parents' and 'came along', he heard this roaring in his ears. "WHOA!!!"  
  
She blinked and looked up. "What?"  
  
" 'We?' 'Our parents?'"  
  
The woman blinked slowly, then grinned a grin that he'd only known Speed to grin and she started to chuckle. "I'm not surprised she didn't talk about me. I'm her kid sister. Sara Morgan Raines."  
  
"Sister...?" It was entirely possible... she did look a damned lot like Marissa...  
  
"Yeah. Baby sister. She was 6 years older than me. Look," her voice took a down turn towards more somber. "Can we go inside or somewhere to get some coffee? It's kind of cold out here and what I have to tell you shouldn't be said on a doorstep."  
  
Considering he had nothing to offer in his refridgerator, he took her offer to go somewhere for coffee. As he stood up and headed down towards the car, he stopped. "Vanessa."  
  
She turned around, then smiled again. "Yeah, how'd you know?"  
  
"It's a long story..."  
  
"She was on the list, wasn't she?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Figured. Every Shelby that came across our paths was named Vanessa. When I found this one, I found my Vanessa. Get in Agent Shaw..."  
  
"Jake," he said as he slid down onto the leather seat. "Please call me Jake."  
  
"Alright." The engine rumbled to life and she shifted into first gear, pulling out into traffic easily. She handled a stick like Speed. Of course she would, kid sister would have had driving lessons from big sister.  
  
"You're dying to know why I'm here... right?"  
  
He nodded yes.  
  
"George called me. After the funeral - which I heard was nice, thank you for chipping in on it - he called me up and told me what had happened. Needless to say that I was beside myself. My sister was dead and I didn't even know about it until after the funeral. Anyways, back to the subject. After the funeral George called me, told me what had happened, told me about you. He went into great details about the deal Fian struck with you guys to keep her crew safe and out of jail, and about how much she loved you." She looked over at him as she drove, easily sliding the stick shift through the paces while keeping it just barely over the speed limit.  
  
Jake didn't say anything, just kept looking at her with a wide eyed stare.  
  
"Anyways, I got in contact with someone named Donovan and he told me what happened afterwards, how she tore up the town with Christine and broke a few land speed records in order to get to you... about how she gave up her life to keep Switch from going after you. Always was a real prick that Switch, never liked him even when he was just a newbie... Fian didn't pay it any mind, always the optimist when it came to new blood and a protege... But, when George told me of how this had affected you, that you were in a depression like funk, I figured I'd better come out here to see if I could help you out."  
  
"George? How did he know?"  
  
"Oh come on Jake. You mean to tell me that you haven't noticed that you were being scouted? You infitrated a boost's world and made it part of your own. Boosts look out for their own and you've made an impression on the crew. Especially George. That old bear is gonna look after you until he dies. Donny, Sweet and Flynn also keep their eyes on you when they can. They all got ahold of me after they found out George knew where I was, told me all about the visits to the head doctor and how you're so lovesick you can't eat or sleep."  
  
"And what else did they tell you?"  
  
"That Fian was in love with you. She never said it straight out, never had to. They all knew her well enough to know it when they saw it. Sweet told me about the look on her face when she put two and two together to come up with a snake wrapped around you and preparing to sink it's fangs into you. So what I want to know is this - do you love her?"  
  
He looked at her like she was as mad as a march hare.  
  
"I'll take that as a yes." She pulled into a parking spot outside of a coffee house and killed the ignition.  
  
Once inside she slid off her leather coat and relaxed a bit. With the sleeveless tight cropped top on, she looked just like Marissa. Jake found himself staring at her or his coffee instead of drinking it.  
  
"So why did you come looking for me?"  
  
"To see what kind of man you were. For Fian to have fallen for you, you had to be something spectacular. I mean, I can see why she was attracted to you - you're gorgeous. But for her to fall required more than physical lust. I want to find out what it was."  
  
**** 


	18. A Sister's Love... Is A Sister's Love.

Jake spent the rest of the day with Sara. The chatter was easy enough with the common interests of both Marissa and cars. By the end of the evening, Sara was beginning to feel good about Jake.  
  
"It was hard, you know? Growing up in our family." Sara was laying on her back in the park watching the clouds drift by in the sunset. Her blonde hair was splayed around her head, the leather overcoat spread out underneath her like a blanket. Jake was sitting a foot or so from her, watching her as those eyes flicked back and forth over the clouds.  
  
"How?"  
  
"Our mother. Daddy would have done anything for us that we needed. When Fian nee-..."  
  
"Why do you call her Fian?"  
  
Sara chuckled and turned her head just slightly to look at Jake. "She called me Morgan, I called her Fian. Nothing more. As I was saying..."   
  
Jake chuckled. That woman had more names than Alex...  
  
"When Fian needed anything, Daddy was there to get it for her. It was Mother who decided that having a car thief in the family wasn't good for social standings. Everywhere we went, people asked us about Fian... Marissa I mean. Mother never let Daddy talk about her. Eventually, everyone sort of 'forgot' about her. When I was older, and Fian had left the family so to speak, Mother tried to make me into her. But there were conditions attached to it all. I had to do this this way, that another way, look a certain way. Daddy gave up inside."  
  
She paused a bit and looked back at Jake. The street lights were starting to flicker on in the growing dusk.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"What do you think happened? I ran. I left the house one night and never went back. Fian and her crew took me in - No questions. Somewhere, deep in the heart of it all, Fian was more of a mother to me than Mother was. She loved me for me, accepted me as I was and looked out for my best interests without putting strings on them."  
  
"You joined her crew?"  
  
"Not quite. Fian always held me at arm's length from boosting. I was only 14. She made me go to school. I respected her enough to do as she told me to. At night, when she was out running the crew, George helped me with homework."  
  
"Did your parents ever come looking for you?"  
  
"No. Fian made sure that Daddy knew where I was. She always kept in contact with Daddy through his office. Once she called the house to talk to him and Mother hung the phone up on her. I remember listening to her cry for hours. All she ever wanted was to please Mother and Daddy."  
  
"You... made it out. You're straight."  
  
"Yup. I am. Fian told me to go."  
  
"Why?"  
  
Sara looked at Jake for a few moments. "I got arrested."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
She shrugged. "What usually happens? Little sister tries to live up to big sister's legend. I got caught in a boost. I was 17, Fian was.... 23. By that time, Detective Booth had gotten onto her record and was snifing hard at every boost in the Metropolitan area. He was determined to bring her in. The first time I knew about him was the night Fian found Christine. It was magical, watching her face light up like she'd found the other half of her soul. I was with her that night... it was also the same night she ditched it in Lake Michigan, then walked away with only a scratch." Sara pointed to her ribcage on the right side and drew her finger down to her waist. So that's what the scar was from, Jake thought.  
  
"She led Booth on a cross-county chase, from Palatine and Arlington Heights all the way through Hinsdale and Le Grange, then back up I-55 past Midway Airport and then down past the Chicago Tribune building and right off into the Lake."  
  
Jake looked horror-struck.  
  
"Stop that. I wasn't in the car with her. She flew by an alley and told me to get out, find my way back to George's. He's got a police band radio that he taps when the spirit moves him. I called him from a payphone and told him I needed a lift. By the time Donny got me back to the garage, she was tearing down Michigan Avenue headed for the Lake. A few hours later, she showed up at Flynn's place, soaking wet and bleeding badly. And so began her love affair with Christine."  
  
"That doesn't tell me -"  
  
"How I got arrested? Can't you guess? They fished Christine out of the lake, then the owner put her in for restoration. I kept track of her, that gleaming midnight blue beauty that had stolen my sister's heart... and two months later when she was back at the owner's home - I tried to boost her. Booth was watching on a hunch. Next thing I knew I was in the back of the car and on the way to the jail. A few hours later I was being released into Fian's custody."  
  
"George was listening on the police band that night?"  
  
"Uh huh. The next day Fian had my bags packed and I was on a bus out to Long Beach, California under the strictest orders that if she ever heard of me getting into any trouble with the law, she was going to come out to Long Beach herself and wollop my ass. For the longest time I thought it was because I went after Christine. But she also told me she didn't want to see me in Chicago for another 5 years unless I was on the straight side of the law. It wasn't until after her trial that I found out why."  
  
**** 


	19. The Price of A Sister's Love...

Sara sat up, crossing her legs in front of her as she picked at the grass. It was completely dark by now and the cool evening air was turning a touch colder. Jake watched her closely, aware of the goosebumps that had pricked up on her bare arms and neck.  
  
"She went to Booth, cut him a deal that if he let me go from the charge, then she'd put her own neck on the line. The next time he caught me, she would confess to it and take my place. Needless to say, he took her up on it. I don't think he counted on her getting me out of town for good. I'd have loved to see the expression on his face when he found out I was gone to California. Two months later, you arrested her."  
  
She shivered and stood up. Jake stood too and wanted to hug her so badly he hurt. Her older sister took the rap for something she did and now she was gone. Sara picked up her coat and brushed the grass off of it.  
  
"I didn't find out until a few months after the fact. Otto received a letter from Fian for me. George also called me and let me know what was going on. We kept in constant contact that way, letters back and forth. That's how I first heard your name. She told me about you in a few of her letters. Your memory haunted her for years. She never could figure out why."  
  
She slid her coat on and kissed his cheek. "It's getting late, I should be getting back to George's for the night and you need some time to think over this. I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
Jake watched her as she left him there in the park and headed towards her car. Once again, he was back in a spin. Things were coming to light that he hadn't known about before. Marissa thought about him for eight years? All of a sudden he felt like the dirt beneath his shoes. He'd arrested her and hadn't looked back or thought about her once until he needed something from her. And she knew this about him...  
  
He walked the dark streets, passing by couples holding hands and stealing kisses from one another. He'd never have that with Marissa. He felt cheated inside, guilty that he couldn't protect her the way he wanted to.  
  
When he found himself at Donovan's front door, Jake realized it was time. He slowly knocked on the door. When Frank opened the door, it was a concerned smile that greeted Jake.  
  
"I figured you'd wind up here eventually. She found you, I assume?"  
  
"Yeah. Spent the entire day talking to her."  
  
"She's a lot like her sister. Come on in."  
  
Jake spent the entire night talking to Donovan. The discussion started off about Marissa and his day with Sara... but then he found himself talking about life in the UC since he could remember. Frank listened, offering what little bits of insight and advice he could. Eventually Frank had to cover Jake with a blanket and let him sleep. Looking at him, he guessed that the younger man hadn't slept a good night's sleep in months.  
  
--  
  
The next morning was deja vu all over again. Only this time it was both Jake and Frank who walked in to the sounds out laughter coming from The Nest. Holding court with Alex, Monica, and Cody was Sara Morgan Raines.  
  
"Good Morning Mr. Donovan."  
  
"Good Morning Miss Raines. Do I even want to know how you found your way here?"  
  
"Nope..." She grinned and winked. Fian was right, he was a good looking man... even if a bit overbearing in thinking he was right all the time.  
  
"Uhhhhhh huh." Despite himself, Frank smiled. "So why are you here?"  
  
"To give you all an invitation. Tonight, 7:00 at George's. I think you all remember the place?" She grinned and picked up her coat. As she did, there was a soft chirping from inside of it. She grinned and answered it, blue eyes landing on Jake as she did. "That's what I wanted to hear. Alright, I'll settle up with you when I get back home. Hey Kip... thanks, I owe you and your brother."  
  
As she headed for the door, she looked over her shoulder. "Don't be late!"  
  
**** 


	20. Christine Rides Again

7:00 THAT NIGHT...  
  
Jake was the last one to arrive. In truth he'd been the first one there, but he'd sat outside in the dark until he felt like he could look at these people again. Once he opened the garage bay door, he heard everyone's voices mingling together. Despite the size of the door, it was silent and no one noticed that he was there.  
  
There was a table with all sorts of food piled on it. There was a large bucket with drinks icing down in it near by the table and everyone - including Frank himself - was lounging around in various chairs, automobile seats and etc. Off to one side were different cars that the owners had put in to George to have refurbished, repainted, rebuilt and so on... but there was one that was completely covered with a drop cloth.  
  
Sara was the first to see him and she stood up with a bright smile. "Hey Jake!! grab a beer and have a seat, we were just about to explain what was going on here."  
  
Alex and Monica scooted over on the pickup truck bench seat and made room for him. He still couldn't look Donny or Sweet in the eyes. Donny and Sweet just smiled and patted his shoulder on the way by.  
  
Sara perched herself on the tail of Chevy Corvette and smiled. "You guys with Jake are probably wondering why this party is going on. Today was Fian's birthday."  
  
Jake's eyes widened. Alex, Monica, Cody, and Frank all turned to look at him.   
  
"Now, this isn't going to be morbid or anything. Fian's life was about pushing it to the limit and enjoying everything that came her way." Donny and Sweet smiled, watching Jake. He looked like he was about to burst out into tears. Alex had put one arm around his shoulders and was trying to soothe him a bit.  
  
"So, in honor of Marissa Fian Randall, I say lift a bottle and have a drink on her." There were a few 'here here's and quiet cheers. "I also asked Agents Cross, Davis, Donovan, Shaw and Mouse," she winked at Cody, who grinned back at her, "to honor them. My sister trusted you with her life and you didn't let her down. She got one last chance to do what she loved and I know she died a happy woman. Agent Donovan, I know the strings you pulled for her and I thank you. She never would have taken the offer, but I thank you all the same. Agents Cross and Davis, you never looked down on her for what she was, instead you took what she threw at you and learned it. Fian loved cars, any chance she got to share that knowledge with someone else made her feel better about being her. Mouse... Fian didn't really talk about you except to say that if she had it to do over again, she'd handcuff you to the desk..."  
  
Scattered laughter among the group turned Cody's cheeks pink. Frank chuckled and spoke up. "Sara."  
  
"Yes Frank?"  
  
"How do you know all this?"  
  
"She called me. The night before the boost she called me to talk. She told me that Donny had paid her a visit after everyone had gone home. She needed to hear my voice one last time. Fian knew things instinctually and told me she had a feeling that things were going to be different when this was over. She also wrote a letter to me that night after she hung up."  
  
Frank smiled and nodded. That sounded like Speed to him. He chanced a look at Jake, who was staring blankly at the floor.  
  
"Which brings me to Jake. I need to talk to him alone."  
  
Jake looked up at Sara, who smiled back kindly at him and offered her hand.  
  
She pulled him to the side away from everyone else. "In that letter she wrote to me," her voice was hushed and she put him between herself and everyone else. "There was a letter to you." she pulled it out of her jacket and handed it to him.  
  
"She instructed me to give it to you in the event that she died. It arrived the day after I got a call from George. She loved you Jake. She didn't realize it until that night when Donny told her things had changed. Until then, she chalked it up to a desire for revenge for putting her away. But in the end, she knew it was love. And it was love that put her in harm's way - not a promise she made to Agent Donovan. She told me about that too. Donny told me about her reaction when Switch said he had you. God himself couldn't have kept her from coming to help you. Jake, she wouldn't want you to go on like this. There is another envelope for you, if you want it."  
  
She handed him the other envelope. It was a padded envelope and sealed with only his name written on it in Marissa's handwriting. After he'd taken it, she stretched up and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Life's for living Jake. Get busy living it." With that, she left him and rejoined the party.  
  
She hugged George, Donny, Sweet and Flynn. George asked her something, Frank wasn't sure was it was, but as she answered, she motioned to the object covered by the drop cloth. Everyone was getting up to get something to eat as Jake opened the letter. It was in Marissa's handwriting too. He read it slowly, the other envelope in his hand forgotten as he did. The letter told him everything that Sara had said. By the time he'd read the letter, he was crying again. Marissa had said in the letter that she wouldn't change anything, that if something were to happen to her, she had no regrets and was at peace with it. She only hoped that Jake could find the peace he'd need in the end if something happened.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
Jake looked up to see Cody standing next to him with a beer held out. He was asking about the padded envelope. Shrugging, he folded up the letter from Marissa and opened up the other one. Out fell another letter, a locket and a pair of keys. Jake held up the locket as Cody bent to pick up the keys.  
  
Sara heard the faint jingling and smiled. It was time. She blew a kiss towards Jake, then while everyone was busy talking to each other, she slipped out a side entrance. Jake didn't need her there anymore and he knew how to get ahold of her later if he needed to.  
  
Cody looked at Jake, Jake at Cody. Monica and Alex stood up and inched over. They'd seen the keys hit the concrete floor and were just as curious. Frank however, remained where he was sitting next to Donny.  
  
"Think he's got any idea?" Frank looked over at Donny.  
  
"Not a clue." Donny clinked his beer bottle with Frank's and winked.  
  
Jake opened up the letter and read it quickly. 'Jake, I'm sorry that this is the way I get to do this. But it's better than in private, less chance of refusal. The locket was Fian's as a child, she gave it to me when I left for California. I was going to give it to her along with the keys.'  
  
Jake looked at the locket, then opened it. Inside was a picture of a younger Fian hugging a much younger Sara. His eyes welled up again as he finished reading the letter out loud. 'The keys were to be a birthday gift for Fian when she got out of prison. She fell in love only once before and it was with that beast she sacrificed herself for me over. When I came across this poor baby, I knew it was time. A lot of love and time went into this and I can think of no better lover to give this Lady to. She's yours. Tricksy (aka Sara)'  
  
Alex and Monica both dropped their jaws and looked up at Jake. Cody still had the keys in hand and started burbling something that sounded like 'oh yeah baby!!' Frank and Donny grinned even wider as Sweet and George walked over to the drop cloth.  
  
"Ladies and Gentlemen!! It's our pleasure to present to you the 1971 Plymouth 426 Hemi Cuda Convertible!"  
  
There, glittering in the overhead flourescent lighting, was Christine. Well, another version of Christine. This one was icey silver with black and chrome detailing. Jake walked towards the car slowly, the locket dangling in his fingers. Cody squealed and ran over to it, Alex smiled, tears welling up in her own eyes as she hugged Jake. Monica grabbed Cody by the arm and dragged him off of the car. Frank stood up and pulled the keys from Cody's fingers to hand them to Jake.  
  
"Like the lady said, she's yours. If you want her, that is."  
  
Jake looked up. "You knew?"  
  
"Yeah. When she got in contact with me a week or so ago, she asked a few too many questions and I had to pin her down. That was the phone call she got. Her ex-husband's little brother got the car delivered out this morning."  
  
Jake smiled. This was Christine... "426 Hemi engine?"  
  
George smiled and stepped aside. "Uh huh."  
  
"Twin Carter AFB four-barrels?"  
  
"490 torque, 425 horsepower and Tricksy added in a custom designed CD stereo and a LoJack system as well as a kill-switch. Guess it helps to have a boost design an anti-theft system, eh?" George laughed heartily, along with everyone else as Jake slid behind the wheel.  
  
Jake looked back at Frank. Frank merely smiled a myterious smile.  
  
"I'll see you in the office early tomorrow morning, right Agent Shaw?"  
  
"Maybe." Jake grinned and turned over the engine. The 426 Hemi engine roared to life, snarling like a mythical dragon who'd been woken up.  
  
**** 


	21. EPILOGUE

He'd re-read the letter that Sara had left with him. Marissa's own words on that letter. He looked down at the piece of paper in his hand with her writing on it. The night before she died. Jake wondered how she knew then that those would be her last words...  
  
He looked back up and over the water. The sun would be rising at any moment. The wind was cool and brisk, but he wasn't cold. Jake shifted his position, trying to get the blood flow back down his legs. Behind him, music drifted from the stereo. This was the quietest part of the morning, before the sun rose and the world woke to a new day. Perfect for good-byes and introspection...  
  
'I was wrong  
we are not these bodies alone  
in a dream with a mind of its own  
I, I know you long  
to be tethered and tied to the heart of the one  
the one that be layin' you down  
on that ancient ground  
nothin' more to be found  
ah yeah'  
  
The sky was lightening, a dull bluish purple pink instead of the velvety midnight blue that it had been when he arrived here an hour ago. Now he was beginning to feel the cold a bit in his toes. But it wasn't a bad feeling. Jake Shaw was glad to be feeling again after three months of numbness...  
  
'now we walk in the dream  
but dream no more  
to live a life in love the only thing in common was  
we knew there was somethin' more  
now we walk in the dream  
but dream no more  
to live a life in love  
to hear the voice in the wilderness  
the other side of the door  
somethin' more  
  
i feel strong  
i'm finally at peace  
the war is all gone  
by no cause of my own  
like an eagle cuts through the air  
no time for fear  
faith in his wings takes him there'  
  
The sun had yet to break the city's horizon and he could hear the city coming alive around him. He was on the docks of Lake Michigan, according to Sara this was the pier that Speed launched the first Christine off of.  
  
It was time to say goodbye. Goodbye to the heartache he'd felt, the guilt. He had loved Marissa Fian Randall more than he realized, and she had loved him. Jake knew that she wouldn't want him to feel this way, but instead to grab life by the wheel and lay pedal to the floor. Her life was about the cars, the thrill... living. And it was that time he got on with his own life. Sara was right in what she said to him 'life is for living, get busy living'.  
  
'now we walk in the dream  
but dream no more  
to live a life in love the only thing in common was  
we knew there was somethin' more  
now we walk in the dream  
but dream no more  
to live a life in love  
to hear the voice in the wilderness  
the other side of the door  
somethin' more!'  
  
Jake pushed off of the car, stretching slightly as the first few bright rays of sunlight hit him and the car behind him. He turned his face into the light and looked up into the sky...  
  
'more than these   
women in the streets pullin' out their hair   
somethin' more  
somethin' more than all the pain we feel  
somethin' more  
more than we could dream of, all light  
love-bliss, no death and no fear  
no fear!!!'  
  
A smile crept over his face as the sky turned a brilliant shade of blue. Maybe it was a play on the light, or the sun blinding him... but Jake swore he could see Speed smiling down at him as he slid behind the wheel of the car. The engine rumbled to life as he turned the ignition and slid the stick down ito first. He eased off the clutch pedal and pulled around off the pier back towards the street.  
  
"Come on Christine, let's go see what kind of trouble we can get into at work today." The deep metallic black and ice-silver paint glittered wickedly in the morning light as the 1971 Plymouth 426 Hemi Cuda pulled off the pier.   
  
'now we walk in the dream  
but dream no more  
to live a life in love the only thing in common was  
we knew there was somethin' more  
now we walk in the dream  
but dream no more  
to live a life in love  
to hear the voice in the wilderness  
the other side of the door  
somethin' more'  
  
'i was wrong  
oh yeah, i was wrong'  
  
As Jake prowled the early morning streets, he had a feeling that things weren't going to be so complicated anymore.  
  
**  
- finis  
  
(( song is "Walk In The Dream" by LIVE off of the "Distance To Here" CD ))  
  
--  
  
I want to give a shout out to Deana and Dreamy One... they were there through the entire story. If it hadn't been for their reviews after posting Chapter 15, I think poor Jake would not have found the closure he wound up getting in this. Thanks Ladies.  
  
Also, I wanna thank LIVE for their wonderful CD "The Distance To Here". As you all can probably tell, it was one of two muses on this. The other, of course, was Jerry Bruckheimer's "Gone In Sixty Seconds". Excellent fluff movie - never won any awards except from the viewers who have a passion for cars. I also took a good deal of inspiration and scenery from the movie. Sorry, I can't help it, it was just a kick ass movie. ~L~ Hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I had fun writing it. 


End file.
